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TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 

CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATION 



No. 7 



THE PUBLIC PEIMAKY SCHOOL 
SYSTEM OP FEANCE 

WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE'TRAINING OF TEACHERS 



FREDERIC ERNEST FARRINGTON, Ph.D. 

Assistant Professor of Education, University of California 

.Sometime Fellow in Education. Teachers College, and International Fellow 

for Study in France, Columbia University 




PTTBLIsnED BY 

ZcacbcxB Collcfie, Columbia "QlntvcreitB 

NEW YORK 
1906 






LIBRARY of G0N8RESS 
Two Copies Recdved 



JAN t4 I90r 

CLASS ^ ""- 
COPY B 



C 



^; 



Copyright, 1906, 

BY 

FREDERIC ERNEST FARRINGTON. 



PREFACE 

This account of the French primary schoo'ls was prepared 
chiefly during a sojourn of ten months at the French 
capital, 1 902- 1 903. The original intention was to undertake 
a study of the normal schools, but as these are merely the cul- 
mination of the whole primary school system, the plan was 
modified so as to trace the entire educational experience of the 
child from the beginning of the school course until the indi- 
vidual, now nO' longer a child, but a vigorous young man or 
young woman, comes forth ready to find a place in that com- 
plex, but finely adjusted organizajtion, the French primary 
school system, and to take his part in turn in developing the 
moral, physical and intellectual powers of a younger genera- 
tion. In view o-f this limitation of the work, many topics that 
one might otherwise have expected to find here, such as the 
university extension work {universites populaires), adult 
classes, lecture courses, school libraries, pedagogical libraries, 
school savings banks, school funds, benefit and pension so- 
cieties {mutualite scolaire), will hardly be touched upon. 

It is an extremely difficult matter for a foreigner to appre- 
ciate justly and fairly the institutions of another country. 
Each great people has its own customs and traditions, and its 
institutions are the slowly and laboriously formed crystallized 
expression of the most potent of these. A stranger can rarely 
make these ideas and ideals a part of his own life and thought, 
hence he must almost invariably judge of their value and in- 
fluence from an unsympathetic apperceptive basis. In its final 
analysis, his standard of judgment must necessarily be his own 
national standards. In spite of any criticisms that may be 
offered against the present practices in France, the existing 
conditions may be, and very likely are, the best suited to the 
temper and needs of the French people, for " what is one 

3 



4 PREFACE 

man's meat is another man's poison " is also capable of a 
national application. 

The authority for whatever may be found herein is 
derived from two general sources, the literature on the 
subject, and personal investigation gained from first hand ob- 
servation of the schoo'ls, from interviews with various educa- 
tional authorities, and from many conversatioiis with the 
teachers themselves. For the legal basis, constant reference 
has been made to the compilation of M. Greard, Legislation 
de I' Instruction primairc en France. For the period since 
1900, this has been supplemented by the Bulletin Administratif 
of the education department. For a general idea O'f the whole 
French primary system, the three admirable volumes published 
by the French government at the time of the Exposition of 
1900 are far and away the most valuable. 

The schools visited were the two- ecoles nornndcs primaires 
superieurcs at Saint-Cloud and Fontenay-aux-Roses, the de- 
partmental ecoles norniales primaires at Paris, Lyon, Valence, 
Privas, Avignon, Douai, and various primary schools in these 
same places and at Lille. 

I was extremely fortunate in being provided with offi- 
cial credentials as holder of the Liternational Fellowship 
for Study in France from Codumbia University; thus every 
barrier was let down and all possible courtesy and kindness 
were shown. If everybody tO' whom I am under obliga- 
tions were 'mentioned, the list would become very long, but I 
desire to testify here to the extreme cordiality of the reception 
that I met everywhere throughout our sister republic, and 
especially to the kindness of M. Chaumie, formerly Ministre de 
I' Instruction publique; M. Gasquet, Directeur de I'Enseigne- 
ment primaire ; M. Liard, Vice-recteur de l' Academie de Paris; 
M. Picavet, Directeur d'etudes adjoint de I'Ecole Pratique des 
Hautes Etudes, et Redacteur en chef de la Revue Internatio- 
nale de r Enseignenient ; M. Minet, Inspecteur primaire a Lille; 
M. Devinat, Directeur de I'Ecole Normalc a Auteuil, Paris; 
M. Mironneau, Directeur de I'Ecole Normalc a Lyon; M. 
Kuhn and M. Gricourt, Professeurs d' Anglais a Auteuil; M. 



PREFACE 5 

Dr. Phillipe, Chef dcs travaux au Laboratoire dc psychologie 
physiologique dc la Sorhonne; and further tO' President Butler, 
Dean Russell, Dr. McMuriy, Dr. Cattell, and Mr. James H. 
Hyde, without whose cooperation this study would not have 
been possible. My thanks are also due to Professor Cohn, 
Head of the Romance Language Department, Columbia Uni- 
versity, and to Mr. Robert Dupouey, of the University of Cali- 
fornia, for many painstaking hours spent in reading my manu- 
script, althoug'h they are in no wise to be held accountable for 
any errors that may have crept in or for any inability on my 
part to appreciate justly the French point of view. Finally, 
I am incalculably indebted to my wife for her tireless assistance 
and constant inspiration. 

Frederic Ernest Farrington. 
Berkeley, California, December [5, 1905. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Preface 3 

CHAPTER 

I. Introduction ii 

II. The Central Authority IS 

III. The Local Authorities 26 

IV. The Teacher 57 

V. The Lower Schools (i) 

Ecoles Maternelles Ti 

Classes Enfantines 80 

Ecoles Primaires Elementaires 81 

VI. The Lower Schools (2) 

Ecoles Primaires Elementaires 

Organization 95 

Curriculum 106 

VII. The Upper Schools lao 

uVIII. The Normal Schools (i) 

Development 140 

ixIX. The Normal Schools (2) 

Organization 168 

Pupils 179 

(,XX. The Normal Schools (3) 

Curriculum 188 

,y XI. The Normal Schools (4) 

Practice Schools 217 

Brevets 226 

Certificat d'aptitude pedagogique 234 

XII. The Primary Higher Normal Schools 238 

XIII. Conclusion: Measures of Efficiency 253 

APPENDIX 

A. Outline of the School Authorities 261 

B. Examination for the Certificat. d'etudes primaires 

6LEMENTAIRES, Lille, 1903 263 

C. Program of the Ecoles Normales 

(i) July 31, 1851 268 

(2) July 2, 1866 269 

(3) Boys' School, Auteuil, 1902-1903 270 

7 



g CONTENTS 

PAGE 

APPENDIX 

D. Examination Questions, ecole primaire superieure . 271 

E. Examination Questions, brevet elementaire . ... 276 

F. Examination Questions, brevet superieur ... 278 

G. Examination Questions, certificat d'aptitude p6da- 

GOGIQUE 281 

H. Examination Questions, Primary Inspector 282 

I. Menus 284 

J. Pages from Student's Note-Book showing Administra- 
tion OF THE Practice School at Lyon: 
(i) Outline to be followed by Critic Teacher in appre- 
ciating Pupil Teacher's Work . 286 

(2) Criticism by the Director 286 

(3) Outline for Psychological Study by the Pupil Teacher 287 

(4) Rapport personnel 287 

K. Bibliography 289 

Index • ■ 297 



NOTE 

The following abbreviations are used in the foot-notes and 
in the bibliography: 

Bull. Adm. for Bulletin administratif du Ministere de I'instruction publique 
et des Beaux-Arts. 

Circ. for Circulaires et instructions ofificielles relatives a I'instruction pu- 
blique. 

Gr. for Greard, Octave. Legislation de I'instruction primaire en France 
depuis 1789 jusqu'a nos jours. 

Mem. et doc.sco. for Musee pedagogique, Memoires et documents scolaires. 
These are a series of one hundred and twenty monographs published 
by the Musee pedagogique and covering a wide range of subjects of 
educational interest. 

Rec. des monog. ped. for Recueil des monographies pedagogiques. Expo- 
sition Unfverselle de 1889. A series of monographs in six volumes 
published 'by the government for the Exposition oi i88g, also appearing 
as the second series of the Mem. et doc. sco. above. 

Rep. Com. Ed. for Report of the United States Commissioner of Edu- 
cation. 

Statistique for Statistique de I'enseignement primaire en France. 

9 



THE PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM 
OF FRANCE 



CHAPTER I 

Introduction 

The civil and political org-anizatioai of France is so en- 
tirely different from ours in the United States, that a very 
brief exposition of that organization here may 
save considerable confusion hereafter. In all ^^^^| ^"'^ 
France and Algeria there are ninety depart- j.. . . 
ments, including the territory of Belfort. Each 
departement is divided into arrondissements, each arrondisse- 
ment into cantons, and each canton into^ communes. Roughly 
speaking, the departments correspond to our states, the arron- 
dissements to our counties, or perhaps better our congressional 
districts, and the communes to our towns or cities, the canton 
being merely an administration district, the seat of a justice 
of the peace, and serving as a recruitment division, and an 
electoral unit for councillors. The departments and the com- 
munes are the only divisions that have a real political organi- 
zation of their own. At the head of each department is a pre- 
fect appointed by the central government, with a sub-prefect 
over each arrondissement, and each commune has its mayor 
who is elected by the members of the municipal council, in their 
turn elected by the popular vote. Each of these officials is as- 
sisted by an advisory council, the prefect having twO', one for 
civil and political matters, the conseil general du departement, 
and the other for educational affairs, the conseil departemental. 



12 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

Besides the communes and the departments, we find the de- 
partments united for educational purposes into- still larger 
divisions, the academics. There are seventeen 
Educational ^^ ^j^^^^ j^^ France and Algeria, and at the head 

Divisions 

of each is a rector appointed by the President 
of the Republic and responsible for all three degrees of edu- 
cation, primar}^, secondary and higher. The national gov- 
ernment exercises a direct control over every department of 
education in France, though the smaller political divisions have 
certain powfers of initiative and control. Higher education is 
given in the universities, with one for each academy; second- 
ary educaition is given in the lycees and the colleges. The dif- 
ference between these last two- is chiefly one of administration, 
the lycees being under the direct control of the central gov- 
ernment, and the colleges in charge of the communes, with 
the government, however, always exercising a supervising 
influence. 

The expressions priniar\ education and secondary education 
liave quite different meanings in France from the same expres- 
sions with us, and whenever the words occur in 

Primary and j-j-^ig text they must be always understood in 

econ ary ^^^^ French signification. In the United States, 

Jtducation _ =" _ ' 

the difference between primary and secondary 

schools is a latitudinal one: that is, the primary course begins 
when the child is five or six years of age and continues until 
he is twelve or fourteen. At this point the primary school 
course is completed, and the secondary begins. In France we 
find quite a different state of affairs. There the division be- 
tween primary and secondary schools is purely a longitudinal 
one. The primary school course begins theoretically, at least, 
when the child is six years of age and continues until he is 
thirteen, although it may be lengthened somewhat at each end 
by the ecoles maternelles, the classes enfantines, the cours 
complement aires, the ecoles primaires superieures, or by the 
ecoles manuclles d'apprentissoge. The first two of these pre- 
cede the elementary school course, and the last three follow it. 
The maximum length of the school life, then, covers the period 



INTRODUCTION 1 3 

from the child's third to his sixteenth year. All this educa- 
tion is absolutely free, even though it may not be open to 
every child that wants it. 

The secondary school which begins normally at nine years 
and continues for nine years has always a preparatory section, 
SO' that the child may really enter at six or seven years of age 
and follow work which is of exactly the same nature as that 
given in the primary schools. Such a child, however, is not 
receiving primary instruction at all, but secondary. At these 
secondary schools, the lycces and the colleges, there are al- 
ways fees for instruction which vary according to the class 
and the school. On account of the fees connected with the 
secondary schools, one naturally finds there a different social 
class from that in the primary^ schools, although from my 
own observation in the elementary departments of the second- 
ary schools I have not found the quality of the instruction at 
all commensurate with the difference in cost tO' the pupils. 

The primai"y school in France is in no sense a preparation 
for the secondary school, for while transition between the 
two' is not absolutely impossible, yet France has 
had too many centuries of monarchical and so- The Primary 
cial traditions to be able to put them aside all School 

at once. The Revolution made the nation a n^ a;,^-, 
republic for the first time, but changes in the 
outward habits of a people are always far more easily effected 
that those in the inner consciousness. Even to-day there is a 
very marked distinction between the paying pupils in the 
secondary schools and the non-paying pupils in the elementary 
schools. The course in the primar}^ schools is intended to fit 
the pupils for agricultural, industrial, and commercial life; 
that in the secondary schools for the university and so for 
the professional world. The elementary primary instruction — 
that is, that between seven and thirteen — has been called the 
" minimum, of primary instruction, the limit below which it 
ought not to descend, the just debt which the country owes to 
all its children.'' It is " sufficiently extensive to make a man 



14 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



oi the one that receives it, and at the same time sufficiently 

modest to be reahzed everywhere." ^ 

By means of the hberal courses offered in the secondary 

schools, the pupil there has no' less than four optional courses, 

the classical, the Latin — modern language, the 

econ ary Lg^j-jj^ — ^^scientific, and the modern languaere — 
Courses . . o o 

scientific course.^ Thus the students may very 

easily prepare for any department of the university. The 
natural close of the secondary course is marked by one of the 
grades of the haccalaureat, for this degree in France comes 
at the beginning of the v^ork in higher education and not as 
with us at its close. It is often said that the course in the 
French college or lycee carries the boy just about through 
the sophomore year in our best American colleges. While 
this is not true in all the subjects, it is perhaps a fair state- 
ment of the case. 

^ Guizot, Expose des motifs des projets de loi sur I'instniction primaire, 
June 28, 1833, Gr. II, p. 3. 

"Plan d'etudes et programmes complets de I'enseignement secondaire 
(the new program for secondar>'- schools, 1902). 



CHAPTER II 

The Central Authority 

In France, the whole question of education is considered 
from a national point of view. Ever since the time of the 
Revolution, at least, the general government 

has been gradually assuming more and more of 

. ... tion 

the responsibility for the education of its citi- 
zens. This centralization reached its maximum in 1889 when 
the public schoo'l teachers all over France v;ere made officers 
O'f the State, and began tO' receive their salaries from the na- 
tional treasury. Toi-day the French educational system is one 
of the most highly centralized systems of the wo-rld, and in- 
deed its uniformity has long- been a matter of comment. The 
almost classic instance of the Minister O'f Public Instructon, 
however, who' was O'verjoyed because on the same day and at 
the same time, in all the lycecs oi France the pupils oi the 
same class were translating the same page O'f Demosthenes or 
Cicero' ^ is fortunately no^ longer true. Now the present con- 
dition is far away from that blighting uniformity. Yet even 
tO'-day, too' little is left for the initiative of the individual 
teacher. Soon after the new programs O'f May and July, 
1902, foT the secondary schools were published, complaints 
began to come in from the teachers on account O'f the lack O'f 
correlation O'f the subjects oi instruction. The same criticism 
mght be made of most of the pro'grams in the primary schools. 
The educational authorities seem: tO' ignore the fact that there 
is a pedagogical as well as a logical order for the study oi a 
given subject. The wo'rk in each subject has apparently been 

^ Compayre, Organisation Pcdagogique et Legislation des Ecoles Pri- 
maires, p. 5. 

15 



l6 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

outlined with the idea of developing that subject logically, ir- 
respective of the work that is being done in any other sub- 
ject. Not long since, I visited a class in commercial law in 
an ecole primaire superieure. The lesson of the day was based 
on the relative advantages of single and double entry book- 
keeping. As the pupils were leaving the room, I ventured to 
remark, " I suppose the class has had some little practice in 
the two systems." " I do' not know," replied the professor, 
"but I will find out." He called up one of the boys and asked 
him. " Yes," said the boy, " we had the two systems last 
year." This may have been an unusual instance, yet it serves 
to show tO' what extremes a lack of correlation may lead. 

The control O'f all this systemi of education is vested in a 
minister whose official title is Ministre de I' Instruction pu- 
blique et dcs Beaux-Arts, and who also inspects 
Minister ^^^ exercises a certain control over private 
Instruction schools as well. This office really dates from 
1828. Under the Convention, the educational 
affairs of the country were administered by one of the com- 
mittees of the Convention, the coniite d' instruction publique of 
sixteen members.^ Soon after this these matters were trans- 
ferred to the Minister of the Interior under the especial care 
of a director-general of public instruction. Napoleon's de- 
cree in organizing the University' left this still under the same 
department, but the active head was the Grand Master of the 
University. This arrangement continued in force until 1824, 
when the ministry of religious affairs and public instruction 
was created.^ About four years later, the ministry of public 
instruction was definitely organized in its present form,* and 
the religious affairs were divided among the departments of 
education, justice, and the interior. Under the French sys- 
tem of government, the office of minister is essentially a 
political one, changing with the varying fortunes of the domi- 

'^ Loi, 7 Fructidor, An II (Aug. 24, 1794), Gr. I, p. 97. 

^ Decret, Mar. 17, 1808, Art. 103, Gr. I. p. 198. 

s Ordonnance, Aug. 26, 1824, Gr. I, p. 328. 

■^ Ordonnance, Feb. 10, 1829, Gr. I, p. 340. 



THE CENTRAL AUTHORITY 



17 



nant coalition then in control of the government. The fact 
that no one party in France has a preponderating influence in 
the national politics tends to make the changes of ministry far 
more frequent. Indeed from the beginning of the Third Re- 
public until 1902, there were no less than thirty-two changes of 
this sort. Except for the fact that the general method of ad- 
ministration was thoroughly bureaucratic, these rapid changes 
would have militated seriously against the development of 
any consistent system of education in France. The Minister 
owes his position to the President and is directly responsible 
for the entire conduct of the educational affairs of the nation. 
With the exception of a very few of the higher educational 
ofificers, whose appointment is vested directly in the President 
of the Republic, the Minister has the power of appointment 
and removal over all those under him, either by exercise of his 
individual prerogative or through the delegation of this power 
to his subordinates. Nevertheless, in this latter case, the ex- 
ercise of this power is carefully safeguarded. The Minis- 
ter's direct power of appointment here includes that of all the 
faculty of the normal schools, and the directors and all the 
regular fully certificated teachers in the higher primary 
schools. In some O'f these latter establishments, however, 
where the work is somewhat professional in its character, he 
shares this power with the Minister of Commerce and In- 
dustry.^ His special communications to the rectors or the 
prefects are issued under the name of instructions, and they 
deal with the minor regulations of the service. The ordi- 
nary regulations of the Minister which serve to interpret, sup- 
plement or apply the lois of the parliament or the decrets of 
the President are known as arretes, and for these he alone is 
responsible. In some of the more important questions, he is 
compelled to consult the conseil superieur, and in these cases 
the arrete always states this fact. 

To guide him safely through the legal mazes of the various 

1 Also, though to a less extent, with various other Cabinet officers, nota- 
bly the Ministers of War, of the Navy, of Public Works, of Agriculture, 
of the Colonies, and of the Interior. 



1 8 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

questions that may come before him, the Minister has a kind 

of cabinet called the comite du contentieiix, con- 

Comite du gisting- of seventeen members, almost all of 
Contenheux =' •.. i 

whom are lawyers, inis committee has no 

real power of its own, and the Minister is under no obligation 
to consult it ; it is an advisory board pure and simple, and can 
consider only those questions that the Minister chooses to sub- 
mit to it. When a question is thus referred to the committee, 
the matter is ordinarily given to one of its members to in- 
vestigate thoroughly. After this work is completed, the mem- 
ber reports to the full board, the question is discussed by the 
committee as a whole, and the opinion of the majority sent to 
the Minister. 

On the financial side, the Minister is charged with the prep- 
aration of the annual budget, and is responsible for the proper 
expenditure of the money voted for his depart- 
ment. He consults his immediate heads of de- 
partments, who have primed themselves in turn from their sub- 
ordinates, as to the specific need of each phase of the educa- 
tional work. By the time these estimates reach the Minister, 
they have been subjected to a course of piiming all along the 
line. The Minister then examines carefully all the demands, 
cuts down some, rejects others entirely, and determines upon 
the schedule he will submit to- the Minister of Finance. This 
minister in his turn brings together the demands of his col- 
leagues, the council of ministers reviews the whole budget, and 
finally decides upon what to present to the Parlcment. Here 
again the various amounts are submitted to- another scrutiny, 
and the Minister is often called upon to substantiate the need 
for his demands on the floor of the Cliambers. The Minister 
is directly responsible for the funds placed at the disposal of 
his department, and no expense may be undertaken nor any 
money paid out save on his order. The total amount of the 
budget for 1903 was 215,939,396 ^ francs, an increase of some 
seven and a quarter millions over the previous year. These 
figures do not include the appropriation for the Beaux-Arts, but 
1 Budget des Depenscs de I'Exercice, 1903, pp. 11-12. 



THE CENTRAL AUTHORITY I^ 

include many objects like the Bureau of Longitude and the 
National Library that are more or less closely connected with 
educational work. Of this total amount, 163,876,445 ^ francs 
represents the amount expended by the State for primary in- 
struction. These figures do not include the amount expended 
by the five cities Paris, Lyon, Marseilles, Bordeaux and Lille, 
which are in the class of cities having more than 150,000 in- 
habitants. These are in a group by themselves and have to 
bear the major part of their educational expenses. In 1903 the 
l)udget of Paris alone for its primary, higher and professional 
schools was 28,557,776 francs.^ This does not represent the 
total amount spent annually in France even for the public 
schools, for the Minister of Agriculture has various agricul- 
tural schools under his direction and the Minister of Com- 
merce and Industry has control over many commercial and 
technical schools in all parts of the coimtry besides the four 
great national schools at Armentieres, Vierzon, Voiron, and 
Nantes. 

Directly below the Minister are nO' less than twenty-five 
bureaux charged with the various matters pertaining to the 

three grades of education, to the fine arts and 

1 1- • 1 1 r 11 1- r Bureaus 

to accounts, and divided as follows : cabinet oi 

the Minister, one bureau; higher education, six; secondary 
education, four; primary education, five; fine arts, six; and 
accounts, three. At the head of each division of the edu- 
cational system we find a director. The five bureaux under 
the authority of the director of primary instruction are occu- 

1 The remarkable increase in the amount expended by the State on pri- 
mary education since 1870 is worthy of note here : 

Budget of 1870 9,988,300 francs. 

Budget of 1880 26,677,813 " 

Budget of 1890 129,388,610 " 

Budget of 1899 153,220,255 

{Rapport sur I'Organisatiou et la Situation de I'Enseignement Primaire, 
p. 105.) 

The striking difference between the figures for 1880 and those for 1890 
is due to the fact that during this decade the great educational laws were 
passed, and the State assumed responsibility for the teachers' salaries. 

2 Ville de Paris, Budget de I'Exercise 1903, p. 5. 



20 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

pied respectively with : ( i ) the personnel of primary education 

and of the higher primary schools; (2) dis- 

Director of cipline, programs and examinations; (3) con- 

nmary struction of schools, and school supplies; (4) 

Instruction . i-r ' \-t/ 

teaching force in the elementary primary 
schools; (5) administration and accounts of the normal 
schools, and scholarships. Among the directors of primary 
instruction since the creation of that office in 1868, have been 
M. Greard and M. Buisson, two men that have done much for 
the cause of elementary education in France during the last 
thirty years. 

Tliroughout the French educational system, the idea seems 
to be to place a single responsible head over each of the vari- 
ous dqDartments but to provide also an advisory 

Superior ^^^ administrative board that shall limit the 
Council 

field of his action to a greater or less extent. 
The Minister has his conseil superieur, the rector the conseil 
de I'uniz'ersite and the conseil academique, and the prefect the 
conseil departemental. Ever since the organization of the 
University under Napoleon I. there has existed some body 
similar to the conseil superieur, though its composition and its 
powers have varied from time to time. For nearly a half- 
century of its existence, it bore the name, conseil de I'lmiver- 
site. The council in its present form dates practically from 
1880.^ Before this time, besides the officials directly con- 
nected with education, the great bodies of the state had been 
represented : namely, the Institut, the magistracy, the clergy, 
and r enseignement libre,' the representatives of all being ap- 
pointed by the President of the Republic. To-day the great 
majority of the fifty-seven members of this council are elected 
by their peers, and they belong almost entirely to public in- 

1 Lot, Feb. 27, 1880, Gr. V, pp. 126-132. 

2 " The law of June 28, 1833, divided the primary schools into ecoles 
publique and ecoles privies. The law of March 15, 1850, gave the name 
ecoles libres to educational institutions founded or supported by individ- 
uals or societies." (Buisson: Dictionnaire de Pedagogic, Pt. I, Vol. II, p. 
2349.) The great majority of these ecoles libres are under the direction of 
rarioius organizations of the Catholic Church. 



THE CENTRAL AUTHORITY 21 

struotion. There are five members of the Institute chosen by 
their colleagues; nine councilors appointed by the President 
on recommendation of the Minister and chosen from the pres- 
ent and past directors of public education, the general inspect- 
ors, the rectors, the academy inspectors, and the professeurs ^ 
of public instruction; thirty-three representatives of higher and 
secondary education and six of primary education, all chosen 
by their fellows; and four representatives of private schools, 
appointed by the President. The term of office in each case 
is four years, and there is no limit to the number of terms a 
councilor may serve. The full council has only two regular 
meetings per year, the greater part of the work being done by 
the permanent section, composed of the nine members ap- 
pointed by the President and six others designated for this pur- 
pose by the Minister. This sub-<!omm:ittee has among its 
duties : ( i ) to study the programs and regulations before 
these are brought before the whole council; (2) to give advice 
on the creation of faculties, lycees, colleges, normal schools, 
on the foundaition, transfer or suppression of chairs, on books 
which ought to be kept o\lt of tlie class room or the school 
library, and finally on all questions of studies, administration, 
discipline or school affairs in general that the Minister may 
refer to it." The powers of the council itself are administra- 
tive, judicial and disciplinary. Besides those specifically enu- 
merated above, it advises the Minister on regulating the con- 
duct of all examinations, exercising surveillance over the 
private schools, granting the demands of foreigners to teach 
in, to open or to direct schools. It is also the final court of 
appeal from decisions of the academic councils in matters of 
contention or discipline as well as on appeals from the de- 

1 The term professeur has quite a different connotation in France from 
what it has in the United States. Besides its use in the university as with 
us, many other teachers have the right to this title: namely, teachers in 
the colleges and the lycees that are agreges, and also those teachers in the 
field of primary instruction that hold the special certificate for teaching in 
the normal schools. Some of these last are often found in the higher pri- 
mary schools. 

2 Loi, Feb. 27. 1880. Art. 4. Gr. V, p. 129. 



22 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

cisions of the departmental councils forbidding- the opening 
of private schools or excluding public or private school teach- 
ers permanently from exercising their vocations/ 

Tlie Comite considtatif is really one of the most active of 
all the advisory bodies of the ministry. It has now been 
in existence for almost exactly thirty years, and 
P . ' is the successor of the former committee of gen- 

eral inspectors. Each of its three divisions, for 
superior, secondary, and primary education respectively, meets 
at least once a month. The primary section of this commit- 
tee is representative, as far as possible, of each one of the 
separate interests found in the primary system. Its members 
are : the inspectors general, the vice-rector of the Academy of 
Paris, the director of the Miisee pedagogique, a primary in- 
spector and the directors of the two normal schools of the de- 
partment of the Seine, and one of the general inspectresses 
of the ecoles maternelles. The director of primary instruc- 
tion is a member of the committee ex officio, but the other 
members not specifically designated above are appointed by the 
Minister for one year. The special duties of this committee 
are to give advice on requests of all sorts coming up from the 
private schools, on the progress of studies in the normal 
schools, on the composition of the examination papers for the 
different brevets, on promotions as well as on all questions that 
the Minister may submit to it.^ Like the comite du conten- 
tieux, however, tliis commission is merely an advisory body. 

With all these advisers, it would seem as though the French 

Minister of Public Instruction would be little more than the 

mouthpiece of these various boards. Of course 

, M" "^t ^^ truth of this depends upon the personality 

of the Minister himself. The system certainly 

permits a man to leave the real work to otliers. One hears 

it said that the Minister really knows very little of the inner 

working o'f the educational system, for he must be too much 

1 Loj. Feb. 27, 1880, Arts. 5, 7, Gr. V, p. 129. 

^ Decret, May 11, 1880, Arts. 2, 11. Bull. Adm., 1880, XXIII, p. 495- 



THE CENTRAL AUTHORITY 23 

of a politiciam.. There is so mudi routine business to be done 
and so many papers to be signed, which nobody else is per- 
mitted to do, that this itself constitutes a severe drain on a 
man's time and strength. It is not unusual to hear : "The Min- 
ister i's not signing papers this week. That matter of yours will 
have to wait." The first of these criticisms does not seem 
to have been true with the former Minister, M. Chaumie ^ 
who is a dharming man personally and has for a long time 
had real educational interests outside his official position. The 
second of these is unfortunately too true. It is one of the 
faults of the French system not to give more independence 
to the subordinate officials, instead of carrying so many things 
up to the Minister, wlien after all, his signature is a mere 
formality. Tliis necessarily makes official matters often move 
very slowly. 

All the above-mentioned bodies are directly connected writh 
the ministerial office in Paris and never come into actual con- 
tact with the sdiools; they are staff officers 

and their official information is all gained at ^ ^"*^* 

Inspectors 

second hand. We now come to a body of men 
and women that are, so to speak, the chief field officers — the 
inspecteurs gencraux. This office has been in existence for 
more than one hundred years, but it was not until after fifty 
years of activity that its members were definitely made respon- 
sible for the inspection of primary schools.^ At first, two- of 
these inspectors were so designated and their number has been 
increased at various times since then, so that to-day there are 
eleven, including one specially appointed to inspect accounts 
in the normal schools, and another inspecteur hors cadre, di- 
rector of the ecole normale printaire superieure at Saint-Cloud. 
This latter takes as active a part in the inspection as his other 
duties as head of the normal school will permit. Besides these 
there is still another, charged with the inspection of drawing, 
but this one comes more properly under the fine arts depart- 

1 Minister from June 7, 1902, to Jan. 24, 1905. 
^ Decret, Mar. 9, 1852, Art. 6, Gr. Ill, p. 494. 



24 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

ment of the Ministry of Public Instruction. Since 1881/ 
there have been women general inspectors for the ecoles 
maternelles. Tliese are now four in number and are appointed 
by the Minister of Public Instruction. The men are appointed 
by the President of the Republic on nomination of the 
Minister. 

As an instance of the low salaries paid to educational people 

in France, it is worth noting that these general inspectors, 

picked from all France and practically at the 

Salaries ^ ^£ ^.j^^ educational ladder, receive only 10,- 
and Duties 

000 francs per year each. They further divide 

a sum of 27,000 francs for travelling expenses. Compared 
with the salaries paid even in somewhat similar positions in 
the United States, these amounts seem ridiculously small, and 
besides in some respects living expenses are higher in France 
than they are with us. For purposes of inspection, France 
is divided into seven districts," and the inspectors are assigned 
to the various fields each year by the Minister. In practice, 
however, an inspector usually has the same assignment for at 
least two years, but this is far too short a time to enable a man 
really to know his district, and if an inspector is not ac- 
quainted with his assigmnent, how can he be in position to 
discharge his just responsibilities? The general inspectors 
are directly subordinate to the Minister, and serve as his eyes 
and hands. They are especially useful to him in investigat- 
ing in his name any subject that demands immediate attention. 
" They have," said M. Buisson, then director of primary in- 
struction, in a report to the Minister, " a three-fold duty : first, 
and as an essential source of information, to visit the normal 
schools and a certain number of primary schools ; next, to set 
a value upon the services and the merits of the academy in- 
spectors, the primary inspectors, and the directors, directresses, 
and professors in the normal schools;" (to-day the higher 
primary schools should also be added here) " finally, to give 

^ Decret, Aug. 2, 1881, Art. 6, Gr. V, p. 304. I 

* Arrete, Mar. 21, 1882. Bull. Adm., 1882, XXV, p. 724. 



THE CENTRAL AUTHORITY 25 

general and comparative information on the progress of pri- 
mary instruction in the various parts of France. ... A gen- 
eral inspector is not a primary inspector on a large scale; he is 
the direct representative of the Minister, carrying about every- 
where the instructions and the inspirations of the Minister 
himself, and interesting himself in everything that the Min- 
ister would, if he could accomplish personally so great a 
task." ^ Once a year in December, the general inspectors 
meet with the rectors at Paris and draw up a list of candidates 
for promotion to be submitted to the Minister. These in- 
clude the primary inspectors and the teaching force in the nor- 
mal schools and the higher primary schools. 

^Rapport au Ministre, Feb. 13, 1880. Bull. Adm., 1880, XXIII, p. 170. 



CHAPTER III 

The Local Authorities 

For purposes of educational administration, all France i& 
divided into seventeen divisions (each made up of several de- 
partments) w'hich are now known as academies. 

Academies . ,, ,- , .,, ■■••• 

At the head of each of these divisions is a rec- 
tor, the highest of the local educational authorities. This 
organization dates from Napoleon's creation of the University,^ 
and although subject to various subsequent modifications, it 
is the one existing to-day. One of the articles of this organic 
decree of 1808 is rather interesting for the light it throws on 
the curriculum of the elementary school at that time. Tlie 
last of the rector's charges was " the little schools, the pri- 
mary schools where one learns reading, writing, and the first 
notions of arithmetic." '^ The seventeen academies to-day are : 
Aix, Alger. Besangon, Bordeaux, Caen, Chambery, Clermont, 
Dijon, Grenoble, Lille, Lyon. Montpellier, Nancy, Paris, Poi- 
tiers, Rennes, Toulouse, each one bearing the name of the city 
that is the academy seat, and each of these, except Alger and 
Chambery, having its own university with at least a faculty 
of letters. 

The head of each of these academies is the rector.*. He 
is appointed directly by the President of the Republic, and 
must hold the doctor's degree.* The rector is 
the chief of all these departments of education, 
superior, secondary, and primary, although his powers as far 

^Decret, Mar. 17, 1808. Art. 4, Gr. I. p. 196. 

* Ibid., Arts. 5-6. 

* In the academy of Paris, the Minister of Public Instruction himself 
holds the title of rector, the duties of the ordinary rector being performed 
by a vice-rector. 

* Decret, Aug. 22, 1854, Art. 16, Gr. Ill, p. 594. 

26 



Rector 



THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 27 

as the last is concerned are chiefly confined to the pedagog-ical 
side of the school work. In a circular to the rectors in 1854, 
the Minister said : " You are called to give the impetus to the 
intellectual work of the youth in the primary, secondary, and 
higher schools. It is a privilege which you divide with no 
other authority and which nobody will attempt to dispute with 
you, 'because it is the very essence of your functions." ^ The 
unification of authority here is necessarily a great advantage, 
for it helps to keep each division of the educational system 
in its own sphere and prevents waste of energy by an over- 
lapping of the fields of work. Except for the short period 
1850- 1 854, the powers of the rectors have not been very ma- 
terially changed since the creation of the office. Some of the 
less important ones, however, have been delegated to other 
officers, especially to the prefect ^ and to^ the academy inspector. 
The normal schools are tinder the special care oi the rector.'' 
He looks after the pupils during their stay at the school. It 
is he who authorizes their promotion from class 
to class or advises the Minister to exclude them Relations 

from the school on the basis of the annual ^Ji f 

Normal 

examinations and after consultation with the Schools 
director of the school and with the academy 
inspector.* The rector's influence 011 the governing board of 
each normal school is most important, for the president of this 
body is his right-hand man, the academy inspector, and be- 
sides he appoints four of the other six members, the remain- 
ing two being members of the conseil general of their depart- 
ment chosen by their colleagues.^' The annual budget as well 
as other recommendatio'ns or suggestions from this board are 
transmitted to the Minister by the rector, with any comments 
or qualifications that the latter may desire to make. There is 

1 Circ, Sept. 15, 1854, Gr. Ill, p. 598. 

2 In Algeria the rector has all the powers ordinarily exercised by the 
prefect in reference to appointing, transferring, or removing teachers. Loi, 
Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 68, Gr. V, p. 699. 

^ Decret, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 57, Gr. V, p. 732. 

* Ibid., Art. 75, Gr. V, p. 737. 

fi Loi, July 19, 1889, Art. 47, Gr. V, p. 185. 



28 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

really nothing taking place in the administration of the normal 
school that escapes the eye of the rector, but he follows es- 
pecially the regulation and application of the programs and 
keeps himself in close touch with the moral and intellectual 
education of the future teachers. Moreover, he has to esti- 
mate the value of the work of the directors and the teachers, 
and his reports together with those oi the inspecteurs gene- 
raux form practically the Minister's sole source of informa- 
tion on which to base his removals or promotions. 

The rector's relations with the higher primary schools are 

much the same as with the normal schools, and in most of 

the academies the former are sufficiently few in 

With the number to receive a fair share of his attention. 

Higher Whenever these primary schools have boarding 

Primary 

Schools pupils, this department is not conducted by the 
State, but ordinarily by the director of the 
school, and here the rector's inspection considers merely the 
general influence on the morals and discipline of the pupils. 
As before, he is chiefly interested in the methods, the programs 
and the worth of the teaching force. Here too, the teachers 
appointed by the Minister often form the subject of special re- 
ports of the rector. These constitute the majority of the 
teachers in these schools. However, in case of lack of teach- 
ers provided with the special certificate for teaching in the 
normal schools or the higher primary schools, certain posi- 
tions may be filled by ad joints appointed by the prefect.^ The 
members of the comite de patronage instituted in connection 
with each higher primary school and composed of prominent 
citizens of the community are appointed by the Minister on 
nomination of the rector.^ In fact the rector himself and 
the academy inspector, too, are members ex officio of eadi of 
the committees within their jurisdiction. Naturally on ac- 
count of his multifarious duties, it is quite impossible for the 
rector to know personally every detail of the work in each 

1 Ministerial circular to the prefects, Apr. 15, 1891, in interpreting the 
laws of 1886 and 1889. Circ, XI, p. 433. 

2 Arrete, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. ^2,, Gr. V, p. 775- 



THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 20 

individual higher primary school of his academy, and so the 
academy inspector acts as a kind of lieutenant or field officer 
in each department. This latter is the personal representative 
of the rector and often takes up the work where his superior 
officer fails for lack of time. 

In the field of primary instruction proper, the powers and 
duties of the rector are much more general, and he is con- 
cerned with movements and coiiditions rather 
than with individuals. He has only an indirect With the 
influence over the externa of the schools, but Lower 

Jrnmary 

over the interna, that is, the programs, the gen- Schools 
eral direction of the studies, the control of 
school exercises, proposed improvements of method, etc., his 
influence is very strong. Besides this, he starts investiga- 
tions, transmits ministerial instructions, approves the lists of 
books to be used in the class room, the liibrary, or as prizes, 
and by reports of the academy inspectors as well as by per- 
sonal observation he watches the organization of the cantonal 
teachers' conferences in each of the departments under his 
control. No school examination escapes his influence. He 
appoints the examining boards for the primary certificate, for 
the higher primary certificate and for the teachers' licenses 
(the two brevets de capacite, and the certificat d'aptitiidc 
pedagogique). The rectors also have the right to inspect all 
private schools, but this inspection is usually limited to the 
conditions affecting morality and health, and for the subject 
matter taught to see that it is " not contrary to moral well- 
being, the constitution or the law." ^ 

Reference has already been made to the fact that the rector 
has charge of all three degrees of the educational system. 
His powers and duties toward the secondary 
and superior institutions are exactly parallel to Academic 
those in the primary field. To aid him in this 
work he is assisted by the conseil acadeniique. This board is 
composed almost exclusively of representatives of the two 
higher branches of education and occupies the same relati\'e 
iLoi, Mar. 15, 1850, Art. 21, Gr. Ill, p. 328. 



30 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

position toward their schools that the coriseil dcpartemental 
does toward the primary schools. 

The academy inspector is the real active head of the pri- 
mary instruction in each department. Appointed first as a 
mere local assistant to the rector, and even now 

ca emy representins: himi somewhat in higher and 
Inspector . 

secondary education, to-day almost by force of 

circumstances his attention is chiefly centered upon the pri- 
mary schools. All the questions relative to primary instruction 
are either submitted to his approval and by him transmitted 
to the higher functionaries, or need his intervention at some 
stage of their progress. In all matters pertaining to methods 
of instruction and pedagogical affairs in general, he is sub- 
ordinate to the rector, but in the personal and administrative 
aspects of primar}^ education, he is quite independent ol that 
authority. The office dates from the time of Napoleon I., 
but has existed in its present form only about fifty years. To- 
day there are ninety-nine of these inspectors, one for each 
department except the Seine, the Nord and the Bouches-du- 
Rhonc. In Paris there are eight, one of them being the di- 
rector of primary instruction in this departmtent. and having 
by courtesy the duties and powers with reference to educa- 
tional administration that usually devolve upon the prefect. 
In the Nord and the Bouches-du-Rhone also, one of the two 
academy inspectors is specifically charged with primary in- 
struction. 

The Minister has full power to appoint and remove these 
officers,^ and in general has chosen them from among the 
professors of secondary education. This has undoubtedl}- 
given some basis for the charge that they are rather indiffer- 
ent to the interests of the primary schools. Mr. Brereton, in 
the course of his study of the French schools,^ did not find this 
criticism borne out by the actual conditions. This naturally 
depends upon temperament, sympathies and viewpoint. In 

1 Decret, Mar. 9, 1852, Art. 3, Gr. Ill, p. 493. 

2 Brereton. Rural Schools of Northivcst France, Engl. Bd. of Ed. Special 
Reports, VII, p. 21. 



THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 3 1 

some departments, ^however, one finds the academy inspector 
interested in the primary schools in only a general way. His 
previous preparation — renYember, he is taken from the ranks 
of secondary education — has not been such as would enable 
him to approach the problems of the lower schools on the 
basis of practical experience. Whatever he knows about 
their methods and their needs has been entirely gained from 
reading and observation and not from any active first hand 
experience. 

Tlie French academy inspector, however, has a particularly 
delicate mission to perfonn and he needs tO' be something of 
a politician in order to acquit himself of his . 

task creditably. He occupies a kind of middle 
position in the educational scale, in close enough touch with 
the actual rank and file of the profession by his frequent visits 
to the schools to encourage them by 'his good counsels, and 
yet near enough to the higher authorities to command their 
attention and their confidence. " To' the academy inspectors 
falls the task of forcing the application of the laws, decrees, 
arrctes and circulars that have established compulsory, free 
and lay education, that have refonned the programs, and have 
assigned the place O'f honor in the schools to moral and civic 
instruction. It is their duty to make the teachers under them 
understand the spirit of all this, to guide them with their coun- 
sels, to sustain their courage, and to fortify them against 
weakness. It devolves upon them to see that the schools are 
properly installed, to arouse the interest of the municipalities, 
to cooperate with the authorities of every degree, with the 
councils, and the local citizens of importance, in order to 
create around our schools that current of sympathies which is 
necessary to their prosperity and development." ^ The duties 

''■ L'Inspection Academique, p. v. This most admirable volume devoted 
to the work of the academy inspectors was prepared expressly for the 
French educational exhibit at the exposition of 1900. It contains examples 
of the official circulars and instructions addressed by the academy inspect- 
ors to their subordinates and also many extracts from their annual reports 
on the situation of primary instruction in various departments. The wide 
range of the subjects treated here gives one some idea of the activity of 
these tireless officials. 



32 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



of the academy inspector naturally fall into two general divi- 
sions, where he is directly subordinate to the rector, and where 
he works in cooperation with the prefect. 

In conjunction with the rector, the academy inspector is 
responsible for seeing that the instructions of the Minister 

and the rector are faithfully carried out. In 

Relations j^jg relations with the normal schools, he pre- 

•D ^Qj. sides over the administrative council, and by 

virtue of this position takes an active part in the 
financial affairs of the institution. He investigates carefully 
the candidates for admission and is president of the entrance 
examination board. As will appear a little later, all this care 
is not entirely disinterested, for these candidates are the same 
individuals from among whom three years later he will have 
to recruit his teachers. He inspects also the class work in 
the school as well as the accounts of the econonte or steward 
and makes the general condition of the school the subject of 
an annual report to the rector. As far as the higher pri- 
mary schools are concerned, his duties are very similar. But 
with the pensionnats that are connected with some of these 
schools he has nothing to do except to satisfy himself that 
their moral and hygienic conditions are beyond criticism. 
Both he and the rector, however, are ex officio members of the 
comite de patronage of every higher primary school in the 
department, and in this way may come into close touch with 
some aspects of the administration in which otherwise they 
are not officially concerned. The inspector visits the ele- 
mentary primary schools as much as his time allows and sup- 
plements his own observation here by the reports of the 
primary inspectors. While the rector appoints tlie members 
of the examining boards for the various certificates and 
brevets that come in the life of the primary schools, the 
academy inspector presides over each one of these commis- 
sions.^ Thus a uniformity is given to the conduct of these 

1 Decret, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 120, Gr. V, p. 753 ; and Decret, July 28, 1893, 
Art. 118, Gr. VI, p. 520. 



THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 33 

examinations, in each department at least, which was not 
possible under the old arrangement where two of these com- 
missions chose their own presidents. Besides, he prepares 
questions for many of the examinations and signs the leav- 
ing certificates of the lower schools. 

All the externa of the elementary primary schools and the 
ecoles tnaternelles are subject to the jurisdiction of the prefect 

and the conseil departemental, with the 

J . . ^ . . ■ . . With the 

academy mspector exercismg a restranimg or Prefect 

modifying influence at various points. The 
most important of the relations between the academy inspector 
and the prefect are those concerning the teaching force. The 
academy inspector is in no sense subordinate to the prefect, 
even though in some things the former cannot act without the 
cooperation of the latter, but they work together on terms of 
perfect equality. All the teachers, both men and women, in 
the elementary primary schools and in the ecoles maternelles 
are divided into two classes : the stagiaires or probationers, and 
the titulaires or regular teachers.^ " No' one can be appointed 
titulaire unless he has been stagiaire for at least two> years in 
a public or a private school, holds the certiUcat d'aptitude 
pedagogique and is on the eligible list drawn up by the conseil 
departemental." ^ The power of appointing the stagiaires 
rests entirely with the academy inspector,' hence we see the 
reason for the careful watch that this official keeps over the 
normal schools and their pupils and also his superintendence 
over the various examination boards. Tlie effect O'f this regu- 
lation is to center the authority for passing on the eligibility 
of any person to enter the teaching force of the elementary 
schools in the educational authorities where it properly be- 
longs. The titidaires are appointed by the prefect but only 
on recommendation of the academy inspector.* Thus the 

1 Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 22, Gr. V, p. 680. 

2 Ibid., Art. 23, Gr. V, p. 680. 

• Ibid., Art. 26, Gr. V, p. 681. 

* Ibid., Art. 27, Gr. V, p. 682. 



34 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF PRANCE 



powers of these two officials are fairly dove-tailed into each 
other, for the approval of each is absolutely essential to the 
permanent appointment of every regular teacher. The pre- 
fect, however, is under no compulsion to appoint the first 
nominee of the academy inspector, or even the tenth for 
that matter, but he cannot appoint on his own initiative. The 
same conditions prevail in regard to the transfer of a titulaire 
or the revocation of his right to teach. ^ This dual control 
would seem to be productive of constant bickerings, but such 
is not the case. Conflicts between these two authorities are 
rare, and in case of continued difference of opinion the mat- 
ter would be carried to the Minister of Public Instruction for 
final decision. It has one very good feature, however, in that 
it safeguards the teachers. The initiative of the academy in- 
spector removes the teacher from the influence of politics, and 
on the other hand, the action of the prefect protects him from 
the possible exercise of any personal spite on the part of the 
academy inspector. 

The powers of the rectors over private schools have al- 
ready been noted. Tlie academy inspectors have the same 
right of inspection and surveillance. In case 

Powers over ^ person wishes to open a private school, he 
o , J must notify the ma ire of the commune, the pre- 

fect, the academy inspector and the govern- 
ment attorney. The notification to the academy inspector 
must also include among other papers his diplomas, the names 
of the places where the applicant has lived, and a statement of 
the work he has followed during the last ten years, and if he 
belongs to an association a copy of the statutes of this or- 
ganization.' The maire may oppose the opening of a school 
in the interests of good morals or hygiene; on any other 
grounds the opposition depends upon the academy inspector, 
for the sole rights of opposition in such cases are confined to 
these two officials. The question is then decided by the conseil 

1 Lot, Oct. 30, 1886, Arts. 29, 31, Gr. V, p. 683. 

2 Ibid., Art. 38, Gr. V, p. 686. 



THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 35 

departemental. Either party may appeal to the conseil stt^ 
perieur de I'instruction publique, and the decision of this body 
is final/ In any case the academy inspector is really the im- 
portant official in the matter. 

In all matters of disciplinary action against a teacher 
whether public or private, the academy inspector takes the 
initiative, and in extreme cases he may absolutely suspend the 
teacher while the matter is being investigated.^ 

The prefet or chief administrative officer of each depart- 
ment has had more or less to do with the control of the school 
affairs ever since his office was created by the 

Prefect 

First Consul. Originally, the prefect for the 
department and the sub-prefect for each arrondissement had 
merely the right of surveillance, and on the basis of this in- 
spection sent in regular reports to the Minister of the Interior, 
for at that point the educational affairs were administered by 
the Department of the Interior. Under the ordinance of 
1833,^ the prefect's duties became more specific and he was 
associated directly with the Universit}^ authorities. He was 
to see that the municipal councils established and kept up the 
primai'y schools as provided by the law of the previous June. 
In case of bad faith or neglect in this respect, the royal au- 
thority could levy a special tax, and have it inscribed in the 
budget of the commune. This is still essentially true in prin- 
ciple to-day. The prefect, however, had no direct power over 
the teachers. From March 1852 until June 1854, under au- 
thority given by the dictatorial decree of the Emperor, the rec- 
tors had the power of appointing the primary teachers formerly 
exercised by the municipal councils. At this latter date a new 
public instruction law was passed, and the powers of the rec- 
tors in this respect fell upon the prefects.* 

At that time the prefect was absolutely free tO' follow his 

1 Lot, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 39, Gr. V, p. 688. 

2 Ibid., Arts. 31, 2>2, 4i, Gr. V, p. 683 et seq. 

» Ordonnance, July 16, 1833, Art. 8, Gr. II, p. 28. 
* Loi, June 14, 1854, Art. 8, Gr. Ill, p. 588. 



36 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

own inclination in the appointmlent of teachers, and the law 
of October 1886 still left him the actual ap- 
Prcsent pointing power, but restricted him to those 
teachers that were nominated by the academy 
inspector/ By virtue of his position as president of the 
conseil departemental, the prefect exerts a powerful influence 
over the schools of his department. He controls to a certain 
extent the action of this body, for he calls tlie members to- 
gether, submits, after consultation with the academy inspector, 
the questions which they should consider, and finally sees 
that their decisions are carried into- effect. Moreover, as an 
officer O'f the Interior Department, he is the guardian of the 
administrative and financial interests of the communes within 
his jurisdiction. Thus a capable man in this position can 
serve as a balance wheel between the extreme educational en- 
thusiast with extravagant ideas on the question of school ex- 
penses, and the narrow-minded politician who would restrict 
the school budget to the lowest possible amount. 

After the short-lived departmiental academies had ceased 

to exist in 1854, the new conscils departementaux '^ were 

created. It is rather difficult to find exact 

Departmental p^^i-^Heis between the French school svstem and 

Council . ,,.-■', 

our own, but m powers and duties, though not 
in station, these bodies correspond very nearly to our munic- 
ipal school boards in the east or the county school boards in 
the west. Up to that time, as far as primary education is con- 
cerned, everything has come down from above. Now we find 
representatives from a lower order with seats in a higher : 
for example, four primary teachers are elected by -their col- 
leagues to- membership in this council. There are fourteen 
regular members, including the prefect as president and the 
academy inspector as vice-president. The rest of the mem- 
bership is made up of four conseillers generaiix ^ chosen by 

1 Lot, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 27, Gr. V, p. 682. 

2 Loi, June 14, 1854, Art. 5, Gr. Ill, p. 588. 

3 The conseil general du departement is the legislative body of the de- 
partment, and must not be confused with the conseil departmental which 
is really the departmental school board. 



THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES yj 

their colleagues, the directors of the two normial schools of 
the department, the two' men and twoi women teachers elected 
by their fellow teachers,^ and twO' primary inspectors desig- 
nated by the Minister.^ In cases of contention or discipline 
affecting the private schools, these institutions may be repre- 
sented by two deleg-ates, appointed by their fellows. Tfhis 
council in no sense represents the popular will, for the in- 
fluence of the four conseillers generaux can not be very con- 
siderable in a board of fourteen, especially where the peda- 
gogical members form so- large a majority. It is worth not- 
ing, however, that a combination between the lay members and 
the primary teachers would leave the central authorities in the 
minority. The presence of these primary teachers here, even 
though they are usually chosen from among the directors of 
the schools, gives some assurance that the rank and file of the 
teachers will at least have an opportunity to be heard. The 
members of this board are chosen or appointed for three years 
and serve without compensation, save that the primary in- 
spectors and the primary teachers that do not live at the chef- 
lien of the department are allowed their travelling expenses. 

The powers of the conseil departemental S-re in their nature 
educational, administrative or judicial, but they do not extend 
beyond the limits of primary instruction. The 
board has no power actually to levy a tax, for 
in financial matters it is subordinate to the conseil general 
du departement, but it can indirectly make the communes 
spend money for education. The subject matter of the pri- 
mary schools, save for subsequent minor modifications, is sub- 
stantially that outhned by the decree of January 1887. It 
is the duty of the conseil departemental to see that these offi- 
cial programs are duly followed, and it may pass special regu- 
lations in the application of these. Furthermore, it considers 
plans for raising the standard of the schools, deliberates on the 

1 In the department of the Seine, this council includes eight conseillers 
generaux, four primary inspectors and fourteen teachers. 

2 Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 44, Gr. V, p. 691, and Bull. Adm., 1901, LXX. 
p. 176. 



38 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

reports and propositions of the academy inspector, and hears 
and discusses his annual report on the condition and needs of 
the public schools and on the state oi affairs in the private 
schools.^ Under its administrative powers, the conscil de- 
partemental in conjunction with the municipal coimcil, deter- 
mines, subject to the approval of the Minister, the number, 
nature and situation of the public primaiy schools which 
should be established in each commune and also the number 
of teachers necessary for these; ^ it may allow two or more 
small commune* ^ to unite for school purposes ; * it may allow 
a male teacher to conduct a mixed school, provided there is a 
woman appointed to teach sewing. ° It appoints one or more 
delegates in each canton {delegucs cmitonaiix) to supervise the 
public and private schools.'* Finally, it keeps an eligible hst, 
rearrang-ed annually, of the teachers in the department that 
deserve tO' be appointed titulaires.'' This function is most im- 
portant, for it is only from this list that the academy inspector 
may select his nominations to be made to the prefect. To-day, 
this promotion list is made up partly on the basis of merit 
and partly on the length of service, depending upon the 
teacher's class. 

This conseil departemental is concerned in most of the re- 
wards and punishments that may fall to the lot of the pri- 
mary teacher. It approves all the nominations O'f the academy 
inspector or the special commissions for the honorable men- 

1 Loi, Oct. 30, 1886. Art. 48. Gr. V, p. 692. 

2 Ibid., Art. 13, Gr. V, p. 677. 

2 This privilege is not very often used, for local communal pride seems 
to induce the communes to support schools of their own. 

1891-1892 1896-1897 1901-1902 
Numiber of communes, France and Algeria. 36,492 36,520 36,551 
Legally united for the support of a school. 871 815 793 
Number of communes having 100 inhabi- 
tants or less 784 863 976 

Statistique, V, 1891-1892, p. xl ; VI, 1896-1897, p. xlvi; and VII, 1901- 
1902, p. xliii. 

*Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 11, Gr. V, p. 677. 

e Ibid., Art. 6, Gr. V, p. 672. 

« Ibid., Art. 52, Gr. V, p. 694. '^ Ibid., Art. 27, Gr. V, p. 681. 



THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES og 

tions and medals of bronze and silver that are awarded an- 
nually by the Minister^ In the matter of penalties, the cotucil 
departcmental " plays the role of a real disciplinary body." 
Of the five penalties, varying from the simple reprimand of 
the academy inspector to the teacher being absolutely for- 
bidden for all time to teach in any school in France pro- 
nounced by the conseil departernentaL every one except the 
reprimand must be approved by this body. In the case of the 
most severe penalties, the teacher may appeal to the conseil 
siipericur.' The conseil departeinental is also called upon 
to decide the objections that may be raised tO' the opening of 
a private school, though here again an appeal may be taken 
to the conseil superieur.^ " It is in reality in each department 
the regulator of the public primary education, the judge of 
its teachers, the arbiter of the interests of the communes in 
matters pertaining to primary instruction ; no- important act 
in school affairs can be accomplished without its intervention. 
Creation and establishment of schools, nomination of teachers, 
appreciation of their merits or their faults, everywhere the 
law has appealed tO' its initiative or to its control." * 

As we follow along down through the successive grada- 
tions of this highly organized system, we finally reach the 
primary inspectors, the privates, so' to speak, of 
all the army of inspectors, the officials that , rimarj 

•^ Inspector 

carry the influence of the central authority into 
the little schools in the remotest hamlets of the country and 
make the modest teacher there feel that behind him is the all- 
powerful authority of the State ready to support and uphold 
him in all his educational work. In their official life these 
inspectors take rank with the directors of the normal schools, 
and are the first of the authorities thus far considered to de- 
vote themselves exclusively to the primary school service. The 
office of a special inspector for primary instruction was first 

1 Arrete, Jan. i8, 1893, Art. 127, Gr. VI, p. 467. 

2 Lot, Oct. 30, 1886, Arts. 30-32, Gr. V, p. 683. 

3 Ihid., Art. 39, Gr. V, p. 688. 

* Organisation et Situation de I'Enseignement Primaire, p. 139. 



40 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



established by royal ordinance in 1835/ One of these offi- 
cials was to be appointed by the Minister for each department, 
and soon after that time he was given one or two assistant 
inspectors to help him. In 1850, the system was better or- 
ganized, and one inspector was appointed for each arrondisss- 
ment.~ Although the number has been slightly modified since 
that timie, proportionally it is substantially the saine to-day. 
The law of 1886,^ left the number to the discretion of the 
Minister. According to* the Amiumrc de I'lnstruction Pui- 
blique for 1903, there were four hundred and fifty-one posts in 
France and Algeria, twenty O'f these being in the department 
of the Seine. On the basis of 106,233 teachers in the ele- 
mentary public primary schools outside Paris,* each inspector 
averages about two hundred and forty-six of these teach- 
ers under his control. In the centers of population where 
the schools are all within easy distances of each other, 
the conditions are bad enough, but in the countr}^ districts 
they are far worse. The result is that in some of the di^ 
tricts the inspector has hard work to get around to all his 
schools once a year. To' be sure, he tries tO' concentrate his 
efforts on the weaker schools and let the stronger ones take 
care of themselves, but after all a system of inspection to be 
valuable must be real. These men have already accomplished 
an almost herculean task in the work they have done during 
the last twenty years, but the good work done thus far ought 
to encourage the Minister still further to increase their 
numbers. 

Women primary inspectors may be appointed under the 

law of 1889.^ They are chosen in the same way as the men, 

after submitting to the same examination. 

Women They may inspect girls' schools and ecoles 
Inspectors -^ . ° 

maternelles either public or private, and they 

1 Ordonnance, Feb. 26, 1835, Gr. II, p. 181. 

2 Loi, Mar. 15, i85o, Art. 20, Gr. Ill, p. 328. 

3 Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 10, Gr. V, p. 675. 

* Budget 1903, p. 98, note. I 

'^ Loi, July 19, 1889, Art. 22, Gr. VI, p. 173. 



THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 



41 



have about the same powers as the men. These, however, do 
not include any voice in the construction or creation of pub- 
He schools, or in reference to the opening of private ones/ 
Tliese women inspectors are found only in the populous cen- 
ters, and in fact as yet but two departments have them — 
Seine and Seine-et-Oise, two in the former and one in the 
latter. Besides these there are five women inspectors for the 
ecoles maternellcs in Paris and five others in as many differ- 
ent departments. 

The primary inspectors are the first officials we have thus 
far met whose selection depends directly upon competitive 
ecamination. The appointment of the higher 
officials rests entirely upon the personal choice Appomtment 
of the President or the Minister, though this inspectors 
n^ust not be understood as implying that in- 
capable or undeserving men have been thus honored. From 
this point down, preferment in the primary system is v/on 
through examination and competition. Now for the first 
time, too, we find superior officers that have risen from the 
ranks, for these inspectors are usually products oi the pri- 
mary school system; and have often been advanced from po'si- 
tions of simple institiiteurs. They are appointed by the Min- 
ister after a severe competitive examination. Until 1880, 
tjhere were so many exceptions made in favor of various 
officials that many found their way into the inspectorate with- 
out submitting to any practical proof of their fitness for the 
position. Since that time, however, the examination has been 
made obligatory for all," and a special examining board has 
been appointed each year to give the same examination simid- 
taneously to the candidates all over France. 

This test consists oi three parts : written, oral, and practi- 
cal. For the written examination, which may be taken in tlie 

chefs-lieiix of the various departments, and . 

' • 1 1 Examination 

must be passed in order to be admitted to the 

succeeding parts of the examination, there are two composi- 

1 Decret, Jan. 17, 1891, Arts. 2-3, Gr. VI, p. 339- 

2 Decret, June 5, 1880, Art. i, Gr. V, p. 160. 



42 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

tions, one on the subject of pedagogy in general and the 
other on school administration. Five hours are allowed for 
each of these. In view of the writer's general observations 
on the apparent lack of initiative in the French schools, the 
subject for the pedogogical question at the series of January 
1899, is worth quoting here. 

" Complaints are made that the spirit of initiative has be- 
comie weaker in France. In what way can the teacher in the 
elementary and the higher primary school work to quicken and 
to strengthen this ?" ^ 

The successful candidates in this written examination are 
called to Paris to submit themselves to the other two parts of 
the ordeal. The oral examination consists of the explana- 
tion of a passage chosen from a list of books designated by 
the Minister every three years. The following are the 
books assigned for the years 1904, 1905 and 1906: 

Montaigne: Essais, livre I., chapitre XXV. 

Rousseau : Emile, Hvre II. 

Channing: L' Education pcrsonnellc. 

MiCHELET : Le Pcuple, 2® et 3"^ parties. Nos Fils, 2® partie. 

Pecaut : U Education publiqiie et la vie nationale, i^^ partie, 
les 177 premieres pages. 

Vessiot : Dc I' education a Vecole: chapitres IX. Idces 
fausses a redresser; — X. Sentiments d ranUnn'; — XL De- 
feats de r education' scolairc; — XV. Petites legons de I' edu- 
cation. 

Guyau : Educatio)i et Hereditc : chapitres IV. But et 
methode de I'edueation inteUectiielle; V. L'ecole. 

Mme. De Remusat : Essai sur I' edncation des femnies. ^ 

Among the writers for the previous three year period, one 
finds, " Horace Mann: Son wiwre, ses ecrits." 

Besides this the candidate is allowed two hours for reflection 
and another half hour for an exposition oi some question of 
theoretical or practical pedagogy'. He is also called upon to an- 
swer a few questions on school law and school administration. 

'^ Organisation et Situation de I'Enseignement Primaire, p. 482. 
^ Arreti, Mar. 7, 1903; Bull. Adm., LXXIII, p. 248. 



THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 



43 



For the practical part of the examination, he is sent to in- 
spect a normal school, either grade of the primary schools, or 
an ecole maternellc, and is then required to make a verbal 
report on the result of that inspection/ The severity of these 
examinations is further attested by the fact that of the five 
hundred and ninety-five candidates that presented themselves 
at the five examinations during the years 1897- 1899, only 
one hmidred and one passed the written part successfully. Of 
the fifty-five that actually received appointments, forty-four 
were professeurs in the normal schools or in the higher pri- 
mary school's and nine were simply iitstittUeurs.^ 

The primary inspectors are divided into five classes, with 
salaries ranging at intervals of five hundred francs from three 

thousand to five thousand francs/. Besides ^ , . 

Salaries 
this each one receives three hundred francs ad- 
ditional fro'm the department * and also from the State a cer- 
tain number of days' travelling expenses at ten francs per 
day.^ This three hundred francs is merely a minimum, and 
some conseils gcneraux add to it very liberally. At least three 
years' service in one class is necessar}^ before being promoted 
to the next higher, but promotion comes by right after six 
years of service in a given class. ^ 

The primary inspectors are immediately subordinate to the 
academy inspector, and receive instructions only from him, 
from the rector, the general inspectors and the 
Minister.^ It is their duty to inspect all the owers an 
primary schools, both public and private of 
their district. As far as private schools are concerned, this 

1 Arrets, Jan. 18, 1887, Arts. 174-182 and the modifications provided by 
the Arrets, July 27, 1893, Gr. V, p. 809-810; VI, p. 518. Again modified, 
Arrets, Dec. 24, 1904; Bull. Adm., LXXVI, p. 1019. 

- L'Inspection de I'Enseignement Primaire, p. 45. 

3 Loi, July 19, 1889, Arts. 13 and 22, Gr. VI, p. 169 £f. In the depart- 
ment of the Seine, these salaries are all three thousand francs higher. 

* Loi, July 25, 1893, Art. 23, Gr. VI, p. 506. 

5 Decret, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 131, Gr. V, p. 755- 

« Loi, July 25, 1893, Art. 25, Gr. VI, p. 507- 

' Decret, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 128, Gr. V, p. 755. 



44 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



is limited to the work already outlined for the rectors and the 
academy inspectors: namely, to note the hyg-ienic and moral 
conditions of the school and to satisfy themselves that the in- 
struction given is not contrary to the public good, the Con- 
stitution or the laws. In spite of the fact that some private 
schools really court a further inspection, the primary inspect- 
ors are always g^lad tO' Hmit themselves to their prescribed 
duties, in the first place because they really have little enough 
time for their public schools, and again because the private 
schools being usually of a denominational character, there is 
little sympathy between them and the educational authorities. 
With reference to the public schools,^ they inspect the morality 
and the hygiene, approve the daily program of the school and 
see that it carries out the spirit and the law of the official reg- 
ulations, and " act as masters oi method tO' the teachers." 
They are also' consulted on the opening of new schools, either 
public or private, and on the promotion of teachers. They are 
directly interested in and are often chiefly responsible for the 
ceuvres complementaires of the school : that is, the adult and 
evening classes, popular lectures, • the school savings banks, 
the school libraries, and the associations of former pupils of 
the school. The primary inspector presides over the examina- 
tion board for the primary certificate and is found among the 
members of several other examining commissions as well as 
in the conseil departemental. 

One of the most important of his duties is the organization 
and direction of the cantonal teachers' conferences. There 

are generallv two of these meetings each year, 
leacncrs ^^^ ^^^ purely theoretical discussion and the 
Conferences '■ -^ . i- • r i • 

Other for the practical application oi this 

theory. Since 1880 the attendance of all public school teach- 
ers at these conferences has been obligatory.^ These con- 
ferences correspond in a large measure to the teachers' con- 
ventions that are held from time to time in many of our own 

1 Decret, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 129, Gr. V, p. 755. 

2 Arrets, June 5, 1880, Gr. V, p. 167. 



THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 



45 



states, and serve as a stim/iilus to the social as well as the 
intellectual and professional life of the French teachers. One 
excellent feature of these conferences is the emphasis put 
upon the practical side. The autumn meeting is usually de- 
voted to a model lesson given by one of the teachers to his 
own children and illustrating some phase of the theoretical 
problem discussed at the spring meeting. After the lesson is 
finished there is an opportunity given for a general discussion, 
and the teacher is called upon to defend himself against the 
criticisms of his fellows. One can readily see that under 
proper direction, such meetings may be of incalculable value 
to the teachers. They also enable the primary inspectors to 
meet their teachers outside the class room and gain consider- 
able information about them that may be of value when the 
question of their promotion arises. The primary inspector 
presides at these conferences, unless the academy inspector 
happens to be present, and is responsible for the conduct of 
the meeting. 

Every inspection of a school by the primary inspector is 
made the basis of a report tO' the academy inspector, and as 
far as possible aims to criticize the good as well as the bad 
points in the organization or the conduct of the school. Thus 
the academy inspector, aided by his own investigations, can 
act intelligently and wisely when he has need to judge of the 
worth of a teacher in questions of advancement, rewards or 
punishments. Some time ago,^ a ministerial circular recom- 
mended that the primary inspector leave a memorandum with 
the teacher embodying the criticisms that he had tO' make on 
the work in that particular school, and this method is said 
to have been productive oi very good results. 

The primary inspector, then, the humblest of the govern- 
ment inspectors, is really one of the most tireless and im- 
portant of them all. He comes into intimate relations with 
the teachers throughout his district and has the best oppor- 
tunity for improving the standard of the teaching force and 
the schools. 

1 Circulaire aux recteurs, Nov. 19, 1892 ; Circ, XI, p. 613. 



46 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

Under the terms of the law of 1886, the only other author- 
ities that miay inspect the schools are the members of the con- 
seil departemental designated for that purpose, 

Other j.|-^g mayors, and the cantonal delegates.^ The 

Authorities -r t ^ , • 1 • 1 r 

for Inspection ^otiseil departemental may appomt one third of 
its members to visit all the schools, public or 
private, in the department," but in practice they seldom use 
this prerogative, for some of their members, the academy in- 
spector and the primary inspectors, already have this power, 
and none of the public school teachers may be delegated to in- 
spect private schools." The maire may visit any public or 
private school of his commune or mlay have it inspected by a 
physician,,* but the former must practically confine his obser- 
vations to the installation and conduct of the school from point 
of view of morals or hygiene, for he has nothing whatever to 
do with the teachers or the methods they use. 

The delegues cantonaux are especially intended to repre- 
sent the lay element in inspecting the schools and stand, so 
to speak, in loco parentis. Their powers and 

Lantona duties have in no sense been changed since the 
Delegates "^ 

ofihce was first mstituted m 1850, for the law of 

1886 simply repeated the provisions of the former law. The 
conseil departemental may appoint one or more of these offi- 
cers for each canton but must assign them definite schools to 
visit. ^ This appointment is for three years and may be re- 
voked at any time. These delegues cantonaux miay even be 
present at the meetings of the conseil departemental with de- 
liberative powers when afifairs of interest to their particu- 
lar schools are under discussion.® At least once in three 
months, all the delegates of the canton meet at the chief town 
to discuss matters of common interest and to make recommen- 



1 Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 9. Gr. V, p. 673. 

2 Ibid., Art. 50, Gr. V. p. 693. 

3 Ibid., Art. 9, Gr. V, p. 673. 

4 Ibid. 

5 Ibid., Art. 52, Gr. V, p. 694. 
« Ibid. 



THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 



47 



dations to the dq^artmeiital council/ According tO' a circular 
of M. Berthelot, " a little inspection stimulates ; too much 
paralyzes .... these delcgues cantonatix are not so many 
additional primary inspectors." ' Tliey have absolutely noth- 
ing to do with the subject matter or method of the instruc- 
tion given, but confine them^selves entirely to the material wel- 
fare of the school, its hygiene and the general attitude of the 
pupils.^ They have in some respects even larger opportunities 
than the primary inspectors, for they can meet the children on 
the street, follow them in the every da}- life of the home, and 
see exactly what the education that the State provides is doing 
for each individual child. After all, the worth of an educa- 
tional system must be measured by its actual influence on the 
life of the pupil and not by the mere external appearance of 
the school room. The practical education is the one that 
best fits for social service, and a system stands or falls by the 
measure of its conformity to that ideal in its broadest 
signification. 

The commission scolaire is a kind of local school board with 
very restricted powers. These committees were organized 
one in each commune a little more than twenty 
years ago * as a natural result of the compul- ^ ^ °° 

sory school law passed at the same time and be- 
cause the authorities felt that for certain work there was great 
need of local cooperation, without which the schools would fail 
in a really essential part of their true purpose. These com- 
mittees are the instruments for developing and encouraging a 
popular interest in the schools and school affairs. Tliey were 
primarily established to improve the school attendance, but 
subsequently their duties have broadened not a little, without 
ever reaching the point, however, where they were allowed 

1 In Paris these delegates are appointed for each arrondissement, and 
meet at least once a month under the presidency of the maire of the 
arrondissement. 

^ Circulaire du Ministre, Mar. 25, 1887, Gr. VI, p. 11. 

» Decret, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 140, Gr. V, p. 757. 

* Loi, Mar. 28, 1882, Art. 5, Gr. V, p. 421. 



48 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

any right to inspect the school or exercise any control ovea* 
the action of the teachers or, in fact, even to enter the school 
itself/ Each commission, except in Paris and Lyon, where 
there is such a committee for each municipal arrondissement, 
is composed of the maire as president, as many delegues 
cantonaux as there are cantons in the comimune, and a num- 
ber of members chosen from the municipal council equal to not 
more than one third the membership of that body. The 
delegues cantonaux are selected by the academy inspector, and 
the councilors are chosen by their fellow members on the 
municipal board. Tlie primaiy inspector of the district is also 
an ex officio member of the committee. The committee meets 
at least once in three months at the call of its president and 
discusses means for improving the work and influence of the 
schools. It is one of the duties of this board to- draw up every 
year a list of the children between the ages of six and thirteen 
in order that the law for compulsory attendance may be en- 
forced. Naturally it often happens that children are kept 
away from school on account of lack of suitable clothing. 
Tliis committee tries to ameliorate these conditions by estab- 
lishing a caisse d'ecolc, or school fund, which may be drawn 
upon to supply shoes or warm clothing, to provide little mid- 
day luncheons or school supplies, and in general to foster 
every good effort so as to make it possible for every child to 
improve the educational opportunities that the State offers him. 
Although the law of 1882 required each comlnune to establish 
such a fund,^ in the 36,551 communes of France and Algeria 
in 1902, there were only 17,439 caisses d'ecole,^ and this too, 
in spite of the fact that in the poorest communes the ministry, 
gives annually a sum equal to that raised by the local authori- 
ties.* Among the other auxiliary organizations which an 
effective committee encourages may be mentioned the school 

1 Dicret, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 154, Gr. V, p. 759- 

2 Lot, Mar. 28, 1882, Art. 17, Gr. V, p. 429. 

3 Statistique, VII, 1901-1902, p. cxiii. 
* Cf. loi supra. 



THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 



49 



library and museum, school savings banks, giving of prizes, 
associations of former pupils, and evening classes. 

As has already been indicated, the administrative organ- 
ization of France embraces the department, the arrondisse- 
ment, the canton and the commune. The first 
and the last of these are the only ones that have 
a real independence with distinct legislative powers and bud- 
gets of their own. Hence these are the only ones that exer- 
cise any control over the educational machinery. The depart- 
ment is far the more important of the two, for although France 
is a republic, yet the influence of the central government 
dominates all the life of the nation. France is essentially a 
State and not a union of states as we are on this side of the 
Atlantic. The government keeps a strong hold on the de- 
partments through the prefect, who is appointed directly by 
the authorities in Paris, but the communal life is now quite 
within the control oi local influence. Since the Goblet law 
of 1884, the conseillers municipaux have been elected by popu- 
lar suffrage and these in turn choose the maire. Although 
the comimunes have practically no' voice in the obligatory ex- 
penses connected with their schools, yet the amounts that they 
may spend over and above the legal requirements are limited 
only by the willingness oi their citizens to assume the neces- 
sary financial responsibility. Tlie real school committee in 
our sense of the term, is the conseil depart emental. In this 
brief treatment O'f the financial aspects of the French primary 
school system, the question will be considered fro^m the point 
of view of the three contributory bodies : The State, the de- 
partment and the commune. 

Until the law of 1889, each commune had cared for its own 

schools, paid the teachers' salaries and all the other expenses 

connected with the support of the schools, al- 
11- 1 11111 The State 

though it must not be overlooked that the 

grants from the State and the department were of very great 

assistance. This naturally gave rise tO' much inequality, for 

some of the communes were very liberal while others were 

equally parsimonious. The prevailing conditions were much 



ro PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

as they are in soime of our states to-day. and the sohoods in the 
poorer communities suffered accoi-ding-ly. Only a few years 
before this, the State had passed the free school law and had 
quickly followed it with the law of compulsoTy attendance and 
laicization O'f the schools. At this time, July 19, 1889,^ 
the State went one step farther and assumed the responsibility 
for the payment of the teachers' salaries. This was extended 
to include also the living expenses of the normal school pupils 
and in general all the normal school expaises outside of those 
connected with the buildings and the equipment. An effort 
had been made in the spring of 1886 to pass a similar law." 
The project was pushed by the Ministers of the Interior and 
Finance as well as by the Minister of Public Instruction, but 
the times were not then ripe for such a measure. Again at the 
time oif the very important legislation in the fall of the same 
year, another attempt was made. At this time, hoavever, such 
strong opposition developed that there was danger of inv 
perilling the law itself, so all the financial questions which 
naturally presented themselves were deferred until a more 
favorable moment. This did not come until midsummer, 
1889, and the financial legislation enacted at this date supple- 
mented the organic law of three years before. Except for 
minor changes made since then, those are the regulations un- 
der which the primary educaitional system of France is ad- 
ministered to>-day. As a result oi the new law, the obligatory 
expenses of the State increased from 86,016,880 francs in 1889 
to 121,488,778 francs in 1890, while at the same period the 
expenses of the communes dropped from 71,956,078 tO' 56,- 
580,247.^ These amounts do not represent by any means the 
total outlay for the year, nor do they mean that the State tool: 
upon itself all this additional burden. It acts simply as tlie 
financia:! agent of the communes, collects from^ them a certain 
tax, and uses the proceeds in turn to pay the teachers. The 
expenses of the departments which had been 17,907,315 

1 Loi, July 19, 1889, Gr. VI, p. 159 fif. 

2 Projet de loi, Mar. 13, 1886. Gr. V, p. 654 ff. 

3 Statistique, V, 1891-1892, p. civ. 



THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 



51 



francs in 1889. at the same time dropped to practically noth- 
ing. In 1902, the last year for which these statistics are avail- 
able, the amounts contributed for primary instruction by the 
State and the communes were 155,098,452 and 81,500,516 
francs respectively/ Although the State assumed so' much 
responsibility, the only estaiblishments d'enseigncment primaire 
public where the State's powers and responsibilities are unique 
are the twO' higher primary normal schools at Saint-Cloud and 
Fontenay-aux-Roses.' These institutions are destined specifi- 
cally to train teachers for the departmental normal schools, 
and absolutely all the expenses of (their maintenance are borne 
by the State. It is almost unnecessary to add that the State 
also pays the salaries of the general officers of the department 
together with the expenses of inspecting the schools. 

Under the new legislation of 1889, the department's ob- 
ligatory expenses in primary education were practically abol- 
ished, and the few that remain dO' not involve 

The 
any great amount. In the department, the chief ^ 

legislative body is the conseil general. The 
members of this body are elected by popular suffrage, with 
one representative from each canton. This body, then, is the 
source of all the departmental appropriations and as such 
provides the funds for the use of the conseil departemental or 
departmenltal school board. The conseil general must pro- 
vide the equipment of the departmental normal schools and 
keep the buildings in repair.^ It must alsoi furnish an extra 
indemnity of at least three hundred francs * tO' each primary 
inspector as well as provide and equip a suitable office for the 

1 Statistiquc, VII, 1901-1902, p. clxxxi. 

- This applies only to the divisions of the educational systeni under the 
authority of the Minister of Public Instruction. The various other insti- 
tutions that really form a part of the educational system of France, such 
as the ecoles pratiques de commerce et d'indiistrie under the Department 
of Commerce, the ecoles spcciales d' agriculture under the Department of 
Agriculture, the military and naval schools, etc., are quite outside the 
limits of this study. 

3 Loi, July 19, 1889. Art. 3. Gr. VI, p. 163. 

♦ Loi, July 25, 1893. Art. 23. Gr. V. p. 505. 



5 2 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

academy inspector. Furthermore, it must pay the expenses 
of the master-workmen necessary to help the professors of 
agricultural, commercial, or industrial work in the schools that 
the department may establish. Inasmuch as the establishing 
of these schools is entirely optional, this can hardly be con- 
sidered an obligatory expense. The most important of all 
these charges is that for the establishment and support of the 
normal schools. Since 1879, the State has required each 
department to provide a school for boys and also one for girls 
where its teachers might be trained. Until the legislation of 
1889, the entire expense of these schools, teaching force and 
all, fell upon the departments. Since that time, however, the 
Sitate has assumed the responsibility of the teachers' salaries, 
the maintenance o^f the pupils while at the school, and in 
general all the expenses except those for the buildings and 
equipment. In regard to the optional expenses which the 
conseil departcmentcd may undertake, these are limited only 
by the willingness o>f the conseil general to grant the necessary 
funds. This latter body really exercises no little influence over 
the educational affairs of its department. It receives every 
year the report of the academy inspector on the condition and 
needs of the schools in the department. Then again, the 
conseil general is represented by four of its members in the 
conseil departemental, and through these representatives as 
well as through the reports that the latter body sends from 
time tO' time is able to keep in rather close touch with the 
progress of education within its jurisdiction. Moreover, the 
demands of the communes for the establishment of new schools, 
or ior state assistance may be transmitted to the Minister only 
with the approval oi this council. Besides, twO' conseillers 
generaux are found on the go-verning board of each normal 
school. Among the various ways in which the departments 
may materially encourage and extend the work O'f the schools 
may be mentioned the grants made to communes to help de- 
fray the cost of school building-'s, the scholarships in the 
higher primary schools together with those granted to the 
graduates and teachers of these schools for foreign study of 



THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 



53 



the modern languag-es, prizes of various kinds and the en- 
couragement given to adult classes, lectures, associatioois of 
former pupils and other oouvres complementaires of the 
school. From this it can readily be seen that although the 
part played by the department is far less important than that 
of the State or even that of the commune, yet it has an op- 
portunity to care for many details that the other two neglect. 
Even though the State assumed the teachers' salaries and 
so much of tlie school expaises by the law of 1889, yet the 
communes wei'e by no means relieved from all 

responsibility in the matter. As has been said ^ ^^ 

Commune 

before, this act of the State was chiefly that of 
a financing agent. The teacher then became a State official 
and is now absolutely independent of the communes in the 
matter of salary. Insitead of the marked inequality that had 
previously existed, the salaries for teachers oif the same class 
were made the same all over France. Inasmuch as living ex- 
penses usually increase with the size of the town, in order to 
equahze conditions, an extra residence allowance was granted 
in places where there are agglomerations of more than one 
thousand people and also for the chef~lie%i of each canton. 
This extra allowance must be paid by the commune.^ By the 
law of 1833, every commune was required tO' maintain at 
least one primary school either by itself or in conjunction with 
another commune.^ This provision w^as not immediately 
carried out, for in 1834 the 37,187 communes had only 22,641 
public primary schooils and only 33,695 public and private. 
In 1837 there were still more than fifty-six hundred communes, 
or about fifteen per cent of the total number that had no pub- 
lic school.* During the next decade this number was cut 
down nearly one half. Since then it has decreased even more 
rapidly and in 1892 only about one tenth per cent of the 
communes lacked school accommodation.* The necessity for 

1 Lot, July 19, 1889, Art. 4. Gr. VI, p. 163. 

2 Loi, June 28, 1833, Art. 9, Gr. II, p. 13. 

3 Statistique, II, p. 10. 

4 Ibid., V, 1891-1892, p. xli. 



^4 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

each commune supporting a primary school was reiterated in 
the law of 1850 and again in that oif 1867. At this latter 
period, the support of a separate school for girls was made 
oibligatoiry upon every commune where there \\'ere at least 
five hundred inhabitants, unless specially excused from this 
obligation by the conseil departemental.^ The present Re- 
public has always taken a deep interest in the educational 
question, and is responsible for the great strides that have been 
made in the last thirty years. The first of these was the ex- 
tension of the normal schoods for both sexes tO' all the depart- 
ments in 1879; then came the great free education law of 
1881 ; the next year education was made compulso-i^y and was 
freed from the domination of the Church; and finally in 1889 
the communes were relieved of the responsibility for paying 
the teachers' salaries directly. The law of 1886 reaffirmed 
the obligation of each commune to establish and maintain at 
least one primary school. 

The State does everything in its power to help the small 
communes keep tO' the letter of this law by giving financial 
assistance in building, reconstructing or enlarg- 
ing their schoo^I houses. Formerly this was 
purely a matter of influence, but in 1885 a new plan was 
adopted by which communes whose centime tax is not more 
than six thousand francs per annum may receive a subsidy 
from the State for these puiposes. The amount granted in 
any one case cannot be less than fifteen per cent nor more 
than eighty per cent of the total expense, account being 
taken of the character of the building, the resources of the 
community, and the need and importance of the work under- 
taken." The poorer the commune, the larger proportionally 
will be its share. The building subsidies in the budget of 
1903 for the needs of primary education amounted to 5,900.000 
francs.^ However, in order still further tO' lessen the burden 
on small communes, the conseil departemental, subject to the 

1 Loi. Apr. 10, 1867, Art. i, Gr. IV, p. I33- 

2 Lot", June 20, 1885, Art. 8, Gr. V, p. 615. 

3 Budget de 1903, p. 103. 



THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES 55 

approval of the Minister, may authorize twO' or more small 
communes that are near each other to- unite for school pur- 
poses. If this union forms an agglomeration oi five hundred 
persons or more, it entails the responsibihty of providing a 
separate school for girls just the same as in the case of single 
communes O'f that size/ The conseil departemental, after con- 
suiting the municipal council, determines, subject to the ap- 
proval of the Minister, the number, nature and situation of all 
primary schools and also the number of teachers that should 
be alloted tO' each.- The ecoles priinaires elementaires, how- 
ever, are the only obligatory schools, the ones whose support 
can be legally charged tO' the communes. Certain other schools 
may be established by the communes and then become the 
so-called conventionally obligatory schools : that is, once 
started they must be maintained foi" at least thirty years, if 
the commune has received State aid fo'r the building or or- 
g-anization of the school.^ Formerly these subsidies from the 
State were given annually for a long period of time, but since 
1894, this money has all been given in a lump sum. There 
are five kinds of schools that come under this provision : 
ecoles maternelles that may be established in communities hav- 
ing more than twO' thousand inhabitants, provided there are at 
least twelve hundred people grouped together in the same ham'- 
let, so to speak; classes enfantines, cours compUinentaires, 
ecoles priinaires siipcrieures and the ecoles nianuelles d'appren- 
tissage. These, as in fact all schools, may be established only 
in the legal manner outlined above. The State's responsibil- 
itv in teachers' salaries extends toi all these obligatory and 
conventionally obligatory schools, but whenever the com- 
munes below these limits establish public schools, they alone 
are responsible for the entire expense. 

The indemnitc de residence was provided for in the law 
of 1889 partly in order to counterbalance the effect of the 
equalization of the salaries. The result of this was : first, to 
guarantee every teacher a living wage ; and secondly, to make 

^ Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 11, Gr. V, p. 675- 

2 Ibid., Art. 13, Gr. V, p. 676. ^ Decrct, Mar. 28, 1899, Gr. VI, p. 880. 



^6 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

the net income of the town teacher as nearly as possible equal 

to that of his fellow in the country where the 

Residence Hving expenses are naturally lower. This in- 

Indemnity . 

demnity applies to towns with more than one 
thousand inhabitants and varies from one hundred francs to 
eight hundred francs annually for heads of schools and all 
teachers in the ecoles primaires siirperieures or the cours com- 
plementaires.^ For ordinary titulaires, the amounts are one 
half and for stagiaires one fourth these sums. In the depart- 
ment of the Seine, there is a special schedule with a maximum 
of two thousand francs for the city of Paris. Each com- 
munity is responsible for this indemnity, and also for pro- 
viding a suitable lodging or its money equivalent for each 
of its teachers. 

Besides this, the commune must also pay for lighting and 
heating the schools, the expense of the janitor service as well 
as the nurses for the ecoles maternelles, the necessary school 
furniture and its repair, including all registers and other rec- 
ord books, and finally the entire expenses of the master- 
workmen needed to help the professors of agricultural, comt- 
mercial, or industrial subjects in the schools that the commune 
may establish.^ Such is the power of the State that in case 
the commune refuses to provide such a school as is deemed 
necessary, the prefect with the support of the conseil general 
may proceed to the construction of such a building and charge 
it on the budget of the commune. Finally, the communes have 
every opportunity to supplement the work of the State and de- 
partment by encouraging- and undertaking other work than the 
mere minimum prescribed by law, either in those directions 
already referred to in the case of the departments or in can- 
tines scolaires (school kitchens), school libraries, school savings 
banks, or in furnishing free text-books to the children. In 
spite of all that the State has done to encourage education and 
lighten its burden upon the poorer people, France is still con- 
siderably behind the United States in the matter of free 
text-books. 

1 Loi, July 19, 1889, Art. 12, Gr. VI, p. 167. 

- Ibid., Art. 4, Gr. VI. p. 164. 



CHAPTER IV 

The Teacher 

One of the most striking features about the French schools 
to an American is the great number of men teachers jn_the 
primary schools and even in the lower grades. 
The idea seems to be pretty well grounded ^^" ^"^ 
with us that the woman with all her latent Teachers 
mother instincts is far more capable of teach- 
ing children than is the man. And this is true from our point 
of view, but the relations between teachers and pupils in France 
are quite different from those in the United States. The 
French teacher becomes a little indignant if one asks him 
about sympathy between himself and his pupils. Of course 
there is sympathy, but it is always the sympathy between the 
teacher as such and the pupil as such, not that between friend 
and equal. Consequently the man teacher in France succeeds 
very well even with the young children, judged according to 
the French standard. It must be noted here that the man 
has comparatively little to do with girls, for every girls' school 
must be taught by a w"oman. Of the twenty thousand mixed 
schools in France, about two thirds are directed by men,^ but 
this is allowed only on condition thalt the commune provide a 
special sewing teacher for the girls of the school. According 
to the latest figures at hand," in the public primary schools, 
both elementary and higher, there were 56,705 men and 57,660 
women. There has been a large proportional increase in the 
number of women teachers during the last five years so that 
the men no longer fill a majority of the 114,365 positions in 

1 Statistique, VIL 1901-1902, p. Ix. In 1901-1902 there were 20,412 mixed 
schools, 13,194 directed by men, and 7,218 by women. 

2 Ibid., p. Iviii. 

57 



rg PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

the public school service. The difference between this figure 
and 169,245, 'the total for all the elementary teachers oi the 
country, represents the number of teachers in the private 
schools, a proportion by nO' means inconsiderable. The pres- 
ence oif so many men in the small single-school communes is 
said to be because the maire prefers to have a man teacher 
in order that he may obtain some secretarial assistance from 
the school master. As a matter of fact, the normal school 
courses formerly included elementary instruction in the prep- 
aration O'f simple legal papers, and it often happened that the 
school master was the only one of the oommunit}^ capable of 
doing this work. For some time past, some of the higher 
educational authorities have been much attracted by otir cus- 
tom in America O'f confining the teaching force of the pri- 
mary schools almost entirely to women. Besides, too, there has 
been some little difficulty in finding suitable men for all the 
vacant positions. Unfortunately all precedent and tradition 
are ag'ainst the employment of women teachers in boys' schools, 
and though these factors musit be reckoned with in France, it 
is to be hoped that years of rq>ublicanism may change this 
feeling. 

The relative position of woman everywhere on the continent, 

as is almost toO' well known tO' need repeating here, is below 

that in the United States. What wonder is it 

Position of ^j,^.j. ^1^^ woman of Europe does not compare 

Women . 

well nitellectually with her brother! Look at 
the disparity in the numbers of the gymnasia for boys and 
girls in Germany; in Paris, even, note that there are five 
ecoles primaires supericurcs for boys and two for girls — in 
1902, the corresponding figures for all France were two hun- 
dred and seven, and ninety-five respectively ^ — and it is only 
since 1879 that the girls' normal schools in France have been 
on the same footing with those of the boys. These are only 
isolated cases but they serve tO' illustrate the general tendency. 
Tlie entrance of women intO' the fields o'f secondary and 
higher education has long- been frowned on very severely on 

1 Statistique, VII, 1501-1902, p. xxxix. 



THE TEACHER 



59 



the other side of the Atlantic. Yet one finds able and bril- 
liant women in France that are interested in and eager to know 
what we in America are doing- to-day along these very lines,. 
Let not any of the women o'f France that I have had the good 
fortune to meet take umbrage at these words, for there are 
thousands of individual cases that I have no- intention of in- 
cluding here. The fact that there are women inspectors and 
normal school principals in France to^-day that have passed 
successfully the same examinatioiis as the men that fill similar 
positions is in itself evidence that these conditions dO' not 
everywhere prevail. But as one looks at the position of wo- 
men as a whole, he will be foixed tO' the above conclusion. 
One is encouraged, however, tO' take a moix hopeful view of 
the future, for " in spite of the attacks, whencesoe^^er they 
may come, the cause oif the girls' lycecs has already gained 
ground in public opinion. The secondary education of girls 
is sure oi its future wherever it is in the hands of skilful and 
intelligent people. It is only necessary tO' let it advance; it 
will move forward slowly but surely tO' victory." ^ Of course 
in these European coimtries there is an economic reason for 
excluding women as much as possible from the professions. 
There where the rate of wages is so- low and the competition 
so keen, man has every reason tO' fear woman, fo^r under nor- 
mal conditions the man has many months tO' feed and the wo- 
man but one. This suggests another point where the French 
practice is quite different from ours. If the French woman 
teacher chooses tO' be married, she does not thereby forfeit her 
right tO' teach. In fact the directress oi a normal school not 
far from Paris is a married woman whose husband is a pro- 
fessor in one of the lycces in the city, and the combined in- 
come of the family amounts to- quite a princely sum for the 
French teaching profession. 

The teachers in the ccolcs primaires cicincnfaircs are di- 
vided intO' two groups, the stagiaircs and the titnlaires. The 
second of these are the only ones that may properly be called 

1 Compayre, Address at the inauguration of the nczv buildings of the 
girls' lycee at Lyon, Nov. i6, 1902. 



6o PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

regular teachers in full standing, the first occupying a kind of 
provisional or probationary stage that must 
Stagiaires continue for at least two years. In the first 
-p-t I ■ place, nobody can be a primary teacher in any 

public or private school in France who is 
not French/ who does not hold the brevet clementaire, or 
elementary certificate, and who' is not at least eighteen years 
of age in the case of a man and seventeen in the case of a 
woman.- During this testing period, for the two years' ex- 
perience as stagiaire is really nothing more than this, the young 
teacher is entirely in the hands of the purely educational au- 
thorities. These are really the final judges as to the probabil- 
ity O'f his attaining the standard established by the department, 
and of being capable of instructing the youth of the country. 

Although the civil authorities play an important part in the 

final appointment of the teacher, yet the initiative belongs 

to the educational department, and this after 

Appointment ,, . , . , . ;^, , 

all IS the important thmg. ihe academy m- 
spector has full power to appoint the stagiaires, to transfer 
them from one post tO' another, and even to- remove them en- 
tirely.^ Hence the great care with which he watches over the 
normal schools and their pupils, for these are the chief 
sources O'f supply for his teachers. The inspector is nominally 
free to seek his teachers where he will, but naturally he ex- 
hausts the supply of trained candidates before accepting others 
less desirable. In fact, a ministerial circular * bids him pro- 
vide places first for the normal school graduates who leave the 
school with the brevet superieur, then for those who having 
finished the course but failed in this examination agree to 
present themselves for it again during the next two years, next 

1 A naturalized foreigner that fulfils the other two conditions as to age 
and diploma may be authorized by the Minister to teach in a specific pri- 
vate school. (Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 4, Gr. V, p. 671 ; Circ, Nov. 13, 
1888, X, p. 370.) 

2 Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 4, Gr. V, p. 670. 

3 Ibid., Art. 26, Gr. V, p. 681. 

* Circ, Aug. I, 1888, Gr. VI, p. 123. 



THE TEACHER 6 1 

the noiTnal graduates of other departments in the same 
academy, and finally, he may appohit promising candidates 
that have had no normal training at all. 

Generally speaking, the normal schools do' not supply the 
needs of their own departments, for the number O'f pupils in 
the entering classes is regulated by the probable 
requirements of the various departments. It is ^ "^^^"^ 

^.-~ - . . . ieaohers 

naturally very difncult tO' estnnate this three 
years ahead, and moreover the departments either will not or 
cannot afford tO' provide for their own natural wants. The 
result is that in some of the departments the normal schools 
provide only one third or one half the teachers. However, 
France has made such progress during the last generation 
that she can now truthfully say that the above law of 1886 is 
practically complied with. The comparatively few persons 
still teaching without holding the necessary elementar}^ di- 
ploma are those that were already in service at the time the 
first law containing this requirement was passed in 1881.^ 
In spite O'f all this remarkable progress, the French schools 
are still some distance behind their ideals, for in 1902, about 
sixty per cent of the men teachers and about fifty-twO' per 
cent of the women were provided with the professional certifi- 
cate necessary for becoming titulaires under the present law. 
All this despite the fact that within the previous five years the 
number of teachers holding the certiUcat d'aptitude peda- 
gogiqiic had increased from about 44,523 to 62,820 — a gain 
of more than forty-one per cent.^ This is a better showing 
than any country in the world, with the exception of Germany, 
can probably make. Certainly we in America are not ver)' 
strong rivals. 

After serving two' years as stagiaires, the teachers may pre- 
sent themselves as candidates for the certificat d'aptitude peda- 
gogique ^ and on passing this examination they become eli- 
gible for appointment as regular teachers in full standing. 

1 Statistique, VII. 1901-1902, p. Ixvi. 

- Ibid., p. Ixvii. 

3 Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 23, Gr. V, p. 680. 



62 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

At this time, the educational authorities lose their absolute 
right to control the movements of the teacher, and henceforth 
he is under the combined controd o^f the educational and the 
civil authorities, for the academy inspector has to share his 
authority with the prefect. After the stagiaire has gained this 
certificate, the academy inspector nominates him as titulaire, 
but these nominations must be made from an eligible list drawn 
up each year by the conscil departcincntal^ and the prefect of 
the department makes the appointment. Each oif the authori- 
ties is absolutely free to act as he pleases with the so'le re- 
striction that the initiative in the matter must invariably be 
taken by the academy inspector.^ This titulaire may become 
the director (or directress) of a school, that is the head oi a 
school with more than two classes,^ or he may become merely 
an assistant in charge of a class. 

In the ecoles primaires superieures, the teaching force is 
divided into two g-eneral groups :* first, the directors and 
those teachers that have a special certificate for 
In the the professorat in the ecoles normales. These 

!^ ^^ latter are called professeurs, together with the 
Schools directors are appointed directly by the Minister, 
and are naturally removable only by him. The 
others are the instituteurs adjoints, who' are regular teachers 
but have not grained this special certificate for teaching in the 
normal schools, and the mattres aiixiliaires, who have certifi- 
cates for teaching- special subjects : for example, modern 
languages, and music. Those belong-ing to this second gen- 

^ Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 23, Gr. V, p. 680. 

2 Circ, Aug. I, 1888, Gr. VI, p. 124. 

3 The French word classe signifies a group of children in the charge 
of a teacher, and is not quite the same as our word class. The French 
equivalent of the English word class is ordinairly cours, but in the normal 
schools it is promotion. Thus in the country schools, with a single teacher, 
we may find three cours, but only one classe, while in the larger schools 
the number of cours may correspond exactly with the number of classes. 
In the city schools, it often happens that a single cours is divided into 
several classes. In this last case, in the United States we should express 
cours by the term grade. 

4 Loi. Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 28, Gr. V, p. 682. 



THE TEACHER 5^ 

eral group are appointed here regularly or temporarily in the 
same way that the tititlaires receive their appoiintments. 

The natural sources of supply for the ordinary teachers in 
the ccolcs nor males are the two' ecolcs iiuniialcs primaires 
supericnrcs at Fontenay-aux-Roses and Saint- 
Cloud, though it not infrequently happens that ^°"''^^! 

1 -111 1 / 1 r *^^ Supply 

a teacher is called to the ecoles norinalcs from 

the ranks of secondary education. Many of this latter class 
prefer a normal school appointment in or near a large city to 
a position in a country lyccc or college. In fact, with the 
help oif additional hours of instruction that are usually to^ be 
found in the cities, the income there is rather better. So, too, 
with the teachers in the ecolcs primaires superieures, one often 
finds a teacher properly classed in secondary ranks that has a 
few hours per week in these primary schools. This un- 
doubtedly tends to raise the standard of the teaching force 
in this class of schools. 

The directors oi the ecoles normalcs are taken almost ex- 
clusively from among the primary inspectors, it being tacitly 
understood that a tour of five or six years as inspector is a 
Tiecessary preparation for the directorship. 

Since the State assumed respoinsibility for the teachers' 

salaries in 1889, the teachers have been very carefully graded. 

The tititlaires are divided into five classes, and 

the process of transition from one to another „^^^^^ ° 

ieachers 
was very strictly regulated by the laws of 1889, 

1893 and 1900, a certain per cent of the total number being 
allowed for each class. This rat;her complicated arrangement 
was abolished in the spring of 1902 ^ and reforms were intro- 
duced looking to bettering the condition of the teachers, the 
basis of promotion being now length of service. For purposes 
of classification, the primaiy inspectors, the directors and 
teachers in the normal and the higher primary schools for 
both boys and girls, and the stewards in the normal schools 
are each likewise divided into five classes. It should be care- 

1 Lot de Finances, Mar. 30, 1902, Art. 69; Bull. Adm., Apr. 12, 1902, 
LXXI, p. 358. 



64 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

fully noted here that the class of the teacher belongs to the 
individual and not to the grade of work he may be doing. 
Under normal conditions, the newly appointed teacher would 
be named as an assistant in a country school, then assistant in 
a town or city school, later, head teacher in the country and 
finally diredtor of a town schood. In this way, a teacher would 
have a varied experience and be fitted for either class of posi- 
tions. In practice, however, this regular progression is by 
no means followed. Owing to- the fact that the supply of 
teachers furnished b}^ the nonnal schools is not equal to the 
demand, the towns aind cities usually get the best of the 
teachers. In the case of the girls' normal school at Batignolles 
in Paris, the better half of the class usually receive appoint- 
ments in the ecolcs matcrncllcs in Paris, while the others are 
sent to the suburbs as teachers in the ccoles primaires 
eletnentaires. 

All the complicated provisions for promotion from one class 
to another, depending partly on length of service and partly 
on merit, and the relative importance of the 
two varying with the class, were abolished by 
the financial law of 1902.^ This was supplemented by some 
positive legislation one year later,^ aimed chiefly at improving 
the financial position of the teachers. Under the old scheme, 
promotion was often slow and irregular, and some of the less 
fortunate spent the best of their years in faithful service and 
still remained in the lowest classes. Then, too, the number of 
promotions depended upon the varying mood of the two cham- 
bers as affected by the peculiar financial situation that each 
year might bring forth. Criticisms were heard on every 
side, and the recruitment of men teachers was becoming in- 
creasingly difficult, due in part to the new law imposing two 
years of military serv- ice on all instead of the one year that had 
previously been required of all professional men, and in part 
to various economic considerations. 

^ Loi de Finances, Mar. 30, 1902, Art. 69; Bull. Adm., Apr. 12, 1902^ 
LXXI, p. 358. 

^ Loi de Finances, Mar. 31, 1903, Art. 73; Bull. Adm., Apr. 11, 1903,. 
LXXIII, p. 468. 



THE TEACHER ■ ■' ■ 65 

By this new legislation, the salaries oif the stagiaircs, and the 

titulaires of the fifth grade, were raised to one thousand and 

to eleven hundred francs respectively.^ The 

, . , , Reform 

probatiO'ners are now promoted to regular 

teachers on the first of January next after they gain the certi- 
ficat d'aptitude pcdagogique, provided always that their names 
are on the department council's list for promotion. This is 
equivalent to saying that the academy inspector approves the 
advancement, for this list is practically made up upon his re- 
commendation. In any case, the academy inspectoT may nom- 
inate for promotion O'uly teachers whose names appear on this 
list, but the actual appointment must be made by the prefect. 
A third clause of this new law provides that beginning with 
the first of January 1904, teachers shall be promoted from the 
fifth and the fourth classes after five years of service in each 
of these grades. Thus length of service is made the basis of 
promotion, and a regular movement is provided for. There 
will no longer be any uncertainty about advancement, and 
every teacher can count on faithful service being rewarded. 
Parliament is now compelled tO' provide for a certain number 
of promotions each year, and it will no longer be possible for 
any teacher to reach the age of retiring and still be drawing 
only a fifth class sala^}^ 

No provision has thus far been made for promotion to the 
second and the first classes, and the omission of any mention 
here would seem to indicate that advancement there might be 
made on the basis of merit, as has heretofore been the case 
with all promotions to the highest class. To-day the first 
class is not only the best paid, but it is composed of the picked 
teachers of the whole school system, and there is no prob- 
ability that the conditions will be sO' changed as to lower the 
present high standard of that class. Throughout all, the 
academy inspector is the moving spirit in everything that con- 
cerns the teacher's life, for he makes the first appointment as 
stagiairc and also' originates all movements for subsequent 
promotion. 

1 Further increased in 1905. Cf. infra. 



66 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

For some years, the directors and regular teachers in the 
ecoles primaires superieures, the ecoles normales and the 
ecoles professiomielles, together with the stewards in the 
second of these schools, and the primary inspectors have been 
promoted entirely fro'm- choice after not less than three nor 
more than six years' service in a particular class, ^ in every 
case the promotion being in the hands of the Minister himself. 

When the State abolished all school fees in 1881, it guar- 
anteed every teacher a salary equal to- the maximum he had 
received during the previous three years.* 
Since 1889 ^ when the State assumed the re- 
sponsibility for the salaries, these have been the same for 
all teachers of the same class all over France. 

Men. Women. 

Stagiaires 1000 * francs. 1000 * francs. 

Titulaires, sth class 1 100 ^ 1 100 ^ 

4th 1200 1200 

3d 1500 1400 

2d 1800 1500 

1st 2000 1600 

1 Loi, July 25, 1893, Art. 25. Gr. VI, p. 506. 
- Loi, June 16, 1881. Art. 6. Gr. V, p. 263. 
3 Loi. July 19. 1889. Art. 7. Gr. VI, p. 166. 

* In 1889 this was 800 francs. It was increased to goo francs in 1893, 
and to the above figure in 1903. 

The budget voted April 22, 1905 carried the following general increase 
of salaries : * 

Men. Women. 

Stagiaires 1 100 francs. 1 100 francs. 

Titulaires, 5th class 1200 1200 

4th class 1500 1400 

3d class 1800 1600 

2d class 2000 1800 

1st class 2200 2000 

The salaries of the men and women teachers of the first four classes will 
reach these new amounts in four years, by annual increment of one fourth 
the difference between the old figures and the new. 

The salaries of the men and women teachers of the two lowest classes 
will reach these new figures in two years, with an annual increment of 
fifty francs. 

5 Increased from 1000 francs in 1903. 

* Bull. Adm., Ixxvii.. pp. 538-539. 



THE TEACHER 



67 



Teachers that have charge o^f a school with more than two 
classes received two hundred francs extra, and this is in- 
creased to four hundred francs if the school has more than 
four classes.^ Each teacher of a cours complementaire also 
receives two hundred francs extra." 

For the directors and ad joints, both men and women, in the 
ecoles primaires superieures,^ the salaries are as follows :* 

Directors. Teachers. 

5th class 1800 francs 1200 francs 

4th class 2000 1400 

3d class 2200 i6cx3 

2d class 25CX3 1900 

1st class 2800 2200 

The directors and adjoints 'that have also the certiiicat au 
professorat in the normal schools receive an extra stipend of 
five hundred francs.^ In case of absence on account of ill- 
ness the teacher's substitute is paid by the State. ^ Not more 
than six months' absence with pay may be allowed in any 
year, for the first three on full salary and for the last three 
on half.' 

The actual salary, however, does not represent the total in- 
come of the teacher. There are two other important items to 

1 Lot, July 19, 1889, Art. 8, Gr. VI, p. 166. 2 jf^id,^ Art. 9. 

^ The corresponding figures for the teachers in the ecoles normales will 
be found in the chapter on those schools. 

■* Loi, July 19, 1889, Art. 14, Gr. VI, p. 170, as amended by Loi, July 22, 
1693, Art IS, Gr. VI, p. 505. 

The budget voted April 22, 1905 carried the following changes in the 

salary list : * 

Men Women 

Directors. Directresses. Teachers. Teachers. 

5th class 2000 francs 2000 francs 1400 francs 1400 francs 

4th class 2300 2200 1700 1600 

3d class 2600 2400 2000 1800 

2d class 2800 2600 2200 2000 

ist class 3000 2800 2400 2200 

5 Loi, July 19, 1889, Art. 20, Gr. VI. p. 172. 
^ Loi, July 25, 1893, Art. 42, Gr. VI, p. 511. 
'' Circ., Apr. 21, 1897, Gr. VI, p. 763. 

* Bull, Adm.. Ixxvii., p. 539. 



68 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

be considered, the house provided by the commune, or in de- 
fault of that an equivalent lodging allowance, and the 
indemnitc dc residence. The law O'f 1889 ^ required that the 
communes should provide both these for the teachers in the 
ecoles maternelles, the ecoles primaires elementaires and the 
ecoles primaires supcrieures, in fact all the schools that may 
properly be called communal schools. Generally speaking, 

the school teacher in France is very comfort- 
° °'"^ ably housed. In the smaller communities, the 
schooil building, the teacher's house and the mairie, or town 
hall, often form one block. A school garden is almost uni- 
versal in the country towns, and this is of nO' little import- 
ance to the school master, for the industrious teacher can save 
many a franc by raising his own A-egetables. The accommoda- 
tions for the adjoint and the stagiaire are less satisfactoi-y, 
but even they are looked out for. 

The indeninite de residence is something quite unknown to 
us in America, but it is really the natural outcome of the 

equalization of salaries. On account of the 
Residential octroi, OT tax which all towns in France of four 

thousand inhabitants and over may levy on all 
commodities, particularly food products, that are brought 
within their walls, the cost of living in these larger places is 
much greater than in the country, and generally speaking it 
varies directly as the size of the town. To compensate as far 
as possible for this condition oi affairs, towns where one 
thousand or more people are massed together must pay this 
indemnity to each teacher.' In order that there may be no 
misunderstanding here, each community in the country is as- 
signed tO' one of the eight classes defined by the limits oi this 
article and the exact amount of the allowance is stated for each 
class. ^ In Paris, this ranges from eight hundred to two 
thousand francs per year, but in the other towns it varies from 

1 Loi, July 19, 1889, Arts. 4, 10-12, Gr. VI, pp. 163, 167-168. 

2 Ibid., Art. 12, Gr. VI, p. 167. 

« Dicret, Dec. 31, 1902 ; Bull. Adm., LXXII, pp. 1249-1289. 



THE TEACHER 



69 



one hundred to eight hundred francs. Outside the capital 
city, the directors of the elementary schools and all teachers 
in the cours complenventaires and the Scales primaires su- 
periettres are entitled to the full amount, while the other reg- 
ular teachers receive one half, and stagiaires only one quarter 
of the above figures. 

The fact that these arrangements are all carried out uni- 
formly and according to law is one O'f the good points about 
the French school system, for it absolutely 

11 «< 1 • 1 1- ' )> r 1 1 Advantages 

precludes any biddmg tor teachers, and one 
is by no- me«ins sure of finding the best teachers in the largest 
cities. It is also important tO' note that nowhere is the 
French teacher confronted with any " payment by results " 
plan, whether in salaiy, residential allowance or any kind of 
state support for his school. The first of these depends upon 
his class, and the other two- on the size and importance of the 
community. Of course every one takes a certain natural pride 
in having as many pupils as possible gain the primary certifi- 
cate, but at least he is free from any worry over next year's 
grant depending upon their success. 

The teacher's tenure of office is practically assured as long 
as he chooses to continue in active work, and he is sure that 
he will not be turned out simply tO' make way 
for a younger man. Besides, too', wherever he Compensations 
may be placed, being really a government offi- 
cer, he is often upheld by the thought that he Teacher 
has all the moral support oi a great nation to 
sustain him. He is safe from all political influence whatso^- 
ever, and is dependent upon nO' mian's petty whim. While 
from one point of view the income is decidedly poor, yet 
one must remember that the standard of living in France is 
belO'W that in the United States, many of the things that we 
consider necessities being luxuries there, and the teacher is 
sure of his position in the schools with certain promotion 
awaiting him while he works and a pension when he retires. 
The country teacher can sometimes increase his meager salary 
one or two hundred francs a year by serving as secretary to the 



70 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



maire. This may seem to be involving the teacher in politics, 

but the tactful man need have nO' fear on this score, and he 

is often in a position tO' increase the public interest in school 

affairs if not actually tO' augment the financial support. 

Moreover a recent law ^ grants free tuition in the lycees and 

colleges to all the sons of public school teachers. 

The teachers' regular salaries are all subject tO' a tax of 

five per cent to provide for their pensions at retirement.^ 

Every teacher who^ has reached the age of fifty- 
Pensions - , , , _ 

nve and has spent at least tvventy-nve years m 

active service is eligible to retire on half pay. The amount of 

this pension is based on the average income of all kinds that 

has been subject to^ the above tax for the best six years of 

the teacher's life. Time spent in the nonnal school after 

the age of twenty may be counted in these twenty-five years, 

and for every additional year of service the amount of the 

pension is augmented by one-fiftieth O'f the salary. In no 

case, however, may the pension oi a man be less than six 

hundred francs nor of a woman less than five hundred francs. 

If the teacher has been married at least six years, his widow 

or minor children receive one third what the husband or father 

would have received.* 

There are five grades of punishment that may be inflicted 

on the teacher : * reprimand, censure, dismissal, temporary 

debarment from teaching (this cannot exceed 

Punishments 

nve years), and permanent debarment. Ihc 
first of these is quite simple and is pronounced by the academy 
Tnspector. This same official pronounces the censure, but only 
with the approval of the conscil departemental. In neither 
of these cases is the teacher allowed any redress. The dis- 
missal is naturally more serious. Here again the academy in- 
spector is the moving spirit, but the actual dismissal is pro- 
nounced by the prefect after the approval of the conseil de- 

1 Loi de Finances, Apr. 13, 1900, Art. 29, Gr. VI, p. 916. 

2 Lot, Aug. 17, 1876, Gr. IV, pp. 646-647. 

3 Loi, Apr. 28, 1893, Gr. VI, p. 496. 

*Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Arts. 31-32, Gr. V, pp. 683-684. 



THE TEACHER 



71 



partemcntal. In this event, the teacher may appeal to the 
Minister. The teachers in the ecoles primaires superieures 
and the ecoles manuelles d'apprentissage as well as all others 
appointed by the Minister are subject to the reprimand and the 
censure under the same conditions as the O'rdinary teachers, 
but they may be dismissed only by the Minister. The tem- 
porary and permanent debarments which may even exclude 
the offender from private school work, are pronounced by the 
conseil departemental. These partake more of the nature of 
leg^l trials, for the accused may here be represented by coun- 
sel. Appeal may be taken from this decision tOi the conseil 
superieur dc rinstruction publique. All the teachers in the 
elementar}^ primary school system are subject tO' these last 
two penalties under the same conditions. 

There are various sorts of rewards that may be bestoKved 
upon the teachers — honorable mentions, bronze medals and 

silver medals, open to all teachers.^ The silver 

... . , ., , . , Rewards 

medal also carries with it a violet ribbon with 

yellow stripes. There is another similar series, except for 
the ribbon, which is open to the teachers in the ecoles moter- 
nelles.* Then, too, we find medals with accompanying money 
prizes given to encourage the work in adult classes. In 1903 
there were distributed in France for this purpO'se seventy-five 
medals of gilded silver, each with one hundred francs addi- 
tional, one hundred and twenty-five medals of silver with 
seventy-five francs additional, and four hundred medals of 
bronze with fifty francs additional, besides many gifts of 
books.* Besides all these, there are numerous other rewards 
for the teaching of agriculture, for encoiuraging vaccination 
and revaccination among the children — two hundred and fifty- 
seven such prizes in 1903 * — as well as various departmental 

1 Arrets, Jan. 18, 1893, Art. 127, Gr. VI, p. 467- 

» Arrete, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 128, Gr. V, p. 798. 

^Arrets, July i, 1903, Bull. Adm., LXXIII, p. 14. 

* Arrete, Oct. 28, 1903, Bull Adm., LXXIV, p. 1052. As early as 1822. 
the question of vaccination began to be agitated officially. Since the regu- 
lation of August 17, 1851, evidence that the child has been vaccinated or 
has had varioloid has been required before he is allowed to enroll in school. 



72 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

prizes. It is not surprising that with this example before the 
teachers the prize-giving spirit sometimes runs rampant in the 
French schools. This is one of the striking features of the 
system to an American at least, and one cannot help wonder- 
ing if many of the children do not work for the marks and the 
rewards rather than from the love of learning or " for the joy 
of the doing." ^ 

1 A few years ago a questionnaire containing various inquiries pertain- 
ing to the school life was sent around in the department du Nord. Of th-e 
37,000 pupils in the cours moyen that were consulted, 15,328 boys and 12,- 
518 girls said -that they were rewarded by their parents when they got good 
marks, and 14,468 iboys and 12,124 girls said they were punished when they 
got bad ones. (Une Enquete Pedagogique: . .Revue Pedagogique, Jan., 
1900, p. 23.) This at least shows an interest on the part of the parents in 
the progress of their children in the schools, but it is decidedly question- 
able if the method followed is really productive of the best results. 



CHAPTER V 
The Lower Schools (i) 

" Primary instruction is given in the Scales maternclles and 
classes enfantines, in the ecoles priuiaires ele}nentaires, in the 
ecolcs priinaires superieures and in the classes of this grade 
that are attached tO' the elementary schools and are known as 
cours complementaires, and in the ecoles nianueUes d'appren- 
tissage." ^ This is the definition of the primary schools as 
found in the opening paragraphs of the organic law of 
October 1886. 

The ecoles maternclles, or salles cfasile as they were gen- 
erally called until 1881, have now existed in France for al- 
most exactly three quarters of a century. They 
take the place of our kindergartens and are like Maternelles 
them tO' some extent. They resemble, however, 
the elementary schools adapted to very young children rather 
than a radically different conception of child education. 
Economic conditions in general and the necessity for the chil- 
dren getting to work early are said to- be responsible for this 
downward trend of the subjects O'f the curriculum of the ele- 
mentary school. In the first place the ecoles maternclles are 
nowhere compulsory in France (but once started, however, 
they are classed among the " conventionally obligatory " 
schools ^ and must be maintained for a certain length of time) 
and the 6,007 ^ schools that existed in 1902 in 3,399 com- 
munities represent the efforts of those communities to provide 
for an aspect of education that is constantly becoming more 
and more important. Although the majority of these schools 

^Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Art i, Gr. V, pp. 669-670. 

2 Cf. ch. iii, p. 55. 

3 Staiistique, VII, 1901-1902, pp. xxv-xxvi, Ixxxii. 

73 



74 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

were private, and most of them ^^"ere conducted by the con- 
gregations, or rehgious bodies, the pubHc schools contained 
about sixty-one per cent of the children. Compared with the 
fig-ures O'f five years previous, these private establishments 
show a gain oi nearly ten per cent in the number of schools 
and about four per cent in the number of children, while the 
corresponding figures for the public schools are nearly one 
and three respectively. In all places of more than two thou- 
sand inhabitants where there is an agglomeration of at least 
twelve hundred people, the State also assumes the responsibil- 
ity for the salaries of the teachers in these schools. The re- 
quirements for the teachers are exactly the same as for those 
in the ordinary elementary schools, and the obligations to- 
ward them on the part of the commune for lodging and res- 
idential allowance are likewise the same. These schools were 
conducted very indefinitely, until the legislation oi 1881 not 
only included them in the category O'f schools with free tuition, 
but also put their organization and supervision upon a definite 
and uniform basis. ^ 

The principle underlying the organization O'f the ecoles nto- 
ternelles in France was essentially social and economic rather 
than educational. Consequently these schools receive very 
young children and will keep them throughout the day, if the 
parents wish. They are open to all children frorra two to 
seven years of age, and the children may remain at the school 
from seven o'clock in the morning until seven in the evening 
in summer, and from eight until six in winter. The time 
before nine o'clock and after four, however, is occupied solely 
with supervised play. 

One O'f the most interesting features of these schools, at 

least in Paris, is the cantine scolaire or school kitchen. Here 

a warm luncheon consisting of meat and vege- 

School tables, or soui) and vegetables is provided for 

Kitchen . , , . , , 

those children that wish to^ remain at school. 

There is a small charge varying from ten tO' twenty centimes 

per day (about twO' to four cents) for those that can afford to 

1 Decret, Aug. 2, 1881, Gr. V, p. 302 ff. 



THE LOWER SCHOOLS 75 

pay, but the others are suppHed free. Each child bring-s his 
Httle basket containing bread and something to drink, gener- 
ally a small bottle of wine, while the school furnishes knife, 
fork, spoon and plate, as well as the food. All the children 
sit down and eat together under the supervision of the 
teacher. 

Women teachers are obligatory, and a woman tO' assist in 
the personal care of the children is attached to each school 
This latter, however, is at the expense O'f the community. 
Generally speaking, if there are more than fifty children, the 
teacher has an assistant, and then the work becomes much 
easier, for the children three or four years of age form^ one 
division and the older ones another. 

The ideas of Froebel have as yet had comparatively little 
influence on the ecoles maternelles oi France. These schools 
have been justly criticised for hurrying the 
children along too rapidly and making the work ^'" ° 

of this very elementary school of too serious 
import.^ It is chiefly work and little play. Although the 
educational authorities declare that the ecole maternellc is not 
an ordinary school, by a strange transformation, "the ideal 
of almost all the persons that are either intimately or re- 
motely interested in that sort of an institution has been to 
make of the ecole maternelle a school with all the disagree- 
able features of the school." ^ The spirit of real enjoyment 
that seems to underlie the play oif our own kindergarten chil- 
dren in the school room, is quite unknown in the ecole ma- 
ternelle in France. 

No special training is deemed necessary for the teachers in 
these schools, and in fact the special certificate 
at one time required was definitely abolished Teachers not 
in 1886 and replaced by the brevet elementaire.^ Trained 
One finds an ecole maternelle attached to the 
practice school of each of the girls' normal schools in 

^ Anna Tolman Smith, in Educational Review, Sept.. 1901. 
2 Mmme. Kergomard, Inspectrice generale des ecoles maternelles in Les 
Scales Maternelles. Revue Pedagogique, April. 1900, p. 2>2>7- 
» Loi, Oct. 30, 1886, Art. 62, Gr. V, p. 697. 



76 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



the country, but the prospective teachers take their turns there 
just as in one oi the other cours of the school, and the pupils 
leave the normal school without knowing whether they are 
to teach in an ecole maternelle or in an ordinary primary 
school. The authorities apparently take the view that " all 
the women teachers should be familiar with the methods and 
the processes of the ecoles matemelles and should be equally 
well fitted tO' teach in all grades oi the primary schools " ^ 
whether in an ecole maternelle or in an ecole primaire sii- 
perieure. As has been said before, in the Paris normal school, 
the better half of the graduating class are generally appointed 
to positions in the ecoles matemelles in the city, and the oth- 
ers are sent to primary scliools in the suburbs. 

According to the ministerial instructions accompanying the 
program oi July 28, 1882, "the ecole maternelle is not a 

_ , school in the ordinary sense of the word : ^ it 

Curriculum ;.,.., , 

forms the passage from- the family tO' the 

school." The method tO' be followed " consists in imitating 
as closely as possible the process of education of an intelligent 
and devoted mother." ^ Since the ecoles matemelles are not 
supposed " to form or to exercise one group of faculties at 
the expense of the others, but rather to develop them all har- 
moniously, one ought not tO' be bound down to follow rigor- 
ously any oi the special methods that are based on a system 
peculiar and artificial." * The instruction in the ecoles mater- 
nelles and in the classes enfantines includes: games; various 
graded movements accompanied by songs; manual work; first 
principles of moral education; knowledge of the common 
things; language work, recitation and stories; the first prin- 
ciples of drawing, reading, writing and arithmetic.^ The 
subjoined program of one of the classes in an ecole maternelle 
will give a rather more coimprehensive idea of the nature of 
the work done in these French schools : 
^ Organisation et Situation de I'Enseignement Primaire, p. 226. 

2 Bull. Adm., 1882, XXVII, p. 247 ff. 

3 Ihid. 4 Ibid. 

5 Decret, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 4, Gr. V, p. 721. 



THE LOWER SCHOOLS 



77 



Pbogham of the Second Year Class in the Ecole Annexe of thk 
Girls' Normal School at Batignolles, Paris. 

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Friday Saturday 



8|-9i 


Assembly 


Singing 




9i-ioi 


Reading 


Language work 


Writing 


io|-io^ 


recreation 


lO^-II 


Reading from text 


Dictation 




II -\l\ 


National 
biography 


Object 
lesson 


1 Descriptive \ History 
i geography \ Morale 


1 Description 
j of pictures 



III- H 

1^2 

2-2} 



2|- 3 



3 - 3i 



3^31 



LUNCHEON — recreation— assembly 



Arithmetic 


Arithmetic 


Arithmetic 


Arithmetic 


Arithmetic 


Drawing 


Drawing 


Drawing 


Drawing 


Drawing 


recreation 


Animals 
and plants 

Manual 
j training 


English 


Class study 


English 


Animals 
and plants 

Manual 
training 

Stories 


Manual 
training 


Manual 
training 


Manual 
training 


Stories 


Stories 


Stories 


Stories 



It is said that on leaving the ecoles mafernelles " the chil- 
dren can almost all read readily, write legibly and can per- 
form simple operations in addition, subtraction and multipli- 
cation." Certainly much more is attempted in France than 
in many of our first and second grades in the United States. 
As far as my observation goes, the use of slates seems to be 
very general throughout the first years of school life, but the 
writing is done with white chalk instead of with slate pencil. 
From the point of view O'f legibility, this is undoubtedly a 
great success, but it can hardly be teiTned hygienic. 

After some preliminary work in addition and subtraction, 
I heard the following example given toi a third class in an 
ecole maternelle : "A man spends forty-five 



Arithmetic 
Example 



francs per month for rent, ninety-two^ francs 

for food, and thirty-two francs for clothes. 

Supposing he saves thirty-one francs, how much does he 

earn?" After one or two children had answered rather 

wildly on the process to be fo'llowed, one indicated the proper 



78 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

method. These were pupils that would probably average six 
years of age. 

It is in this same school — the practice school attached to 
the girls' normal school in Paris — that an attempt was made 
in 1 902- 1 903 to begin the teaching of English 
"^ '^ in the lowest grade O'f the ecole maternelle. Of 

course the work is all very elementary, being confined to the 
names of the ordinary objects about the school room and such 
simple sentences as: "Give me some bread," "Take your 
slate." One little boy counted up to five in English. A few 
minutes are devoted to exercises oi this sort two- or three times 
a week, and the work is all done by the regular class teachers. 

The foillowing extracts from " The day of a teacher in an 
ecole maternelle in Paris " may throw additional light on this 
srrade of schools in France. ^ 

" From the time when the ecole maternelle opens, at eight 
o'clock in winter and seven o'clock in summer, the children from 
two to six years of age come in the company of some member 
of their family — an older brother or sister who is on his way to 
the adjoining school, or perhaps the mother. 

" The teacher on duty receives them and has the children that 
eat luncheon at the school arrange their baskets in a place by 
themselves. Then all the little folks take their seats on the 
benches of the court. Until nine o'clock, the regular hour for 
opening school, the teacher has the children spend the time in 
singing or in some light gymnastic work. 

" We might add that the ecole maternelle is a mixed school 
and there is no separation of the sexes in the classroom, in the 
court or on the playground. 

"At nine o'clock all the teachers appear. Each one takes 
charge of her own class, conducts the children to the toilets, in- 
spects their hands, their handkerchiefs and their clothes, calls 
the attention of some to their faults, rewards others for their 
general neatness, and promises to be lenient with those who are 
very clean the next day. 

" They sing as they go to their classes. When everybody is 
seated the class work begins. 

1 Quoted in Organisation et Situation dc I'Enseignement Primaire, pp. 
227-229. 



THE LOWER SCHOOLS 79 

" In accordance with the program, twenty minutes are spent 
in reading, five in singing, twenty in writing and ten in language 
work. 

" For the reading, movable letters are used or else the teacher 
writes letters or syllables on the blackboard, always giving the 
sound with the character. 

"At quarter past ten there is a half-hour recess. The children 
play freely 'but they are under surveillance. 

" On returning to the class, the roll is called, and then follow 
simple lessons in history, geography, or object lessons, accord- 
ing to the program. 

"At quarter past eleven, the teacher appointed to look after 
the luncheon hour conducts to tlie court all the children that eat 
luncheon at the school. 

" Behind these come the children that go home for the mid- 
day meal. A teacher sees tliem to the door of the school where 
the parents are waiting for them. 

" The maid helps the teacher in seating the children at the 
tables and in passing the food. The poor receive their soup and 
vegetables, sometimes soup, vegetables and meat, free ; the others- 
pay ten centimes (about two cents). During the luncheon, the 
teacher and the maid continually call attention to the need of 
cleanliness and even interrupt the meal to make important sug- 
gestions. Luncheon is over at quarter past twelve. 

" The play of the children is free. The teacher in Charge is 
now relieved by another. The surveillance is usually restricted 
to preventing dangerous games ; but a teacher who really appre- 
ciates her responsibility directs the play, participates in it and 
takes personal interest in all the little children who 'have so 
much need of good advice or kind words. 

"At one o'clock, the children are taken to the wash room and 
the toilets. They sing on their way to their class rooms, and 
then follow the ordinary class exercises : reading, arithmetic, 
interspersed with memory work or singing. Then various exer- 
cises continue until half past two, when there is a recreation 
period of half an hour. Twice a week, after this period, each 
class has gymnastics : simple movements of the arms and legs, 
marches, games. 

"After the recreation, there is either manual work or de- 
signing. These exercises consist of folding, weaving, cutting 



8o PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

or pricking. The design is either drawn in a blank book or fash- 
ioned with Httle strips of material. 

"At four o'clock, the children that go home alone are led to 
the door, the others await their parents. 

" The school closes at six o'clock in winter and seven o'clock 
in summer. 

" When the children leave the ecole maternelle at six years 
of age, almost all of them can read readily, write legibly, and 
perform some simple operations in addition, subtraction and mul- 
tiplication. 

" In some quarters of the great cities, the children are poorly 
clothed, but generally speaking they are reasonably clean. It is 
very rare to see a child with a soiled frock on Monday. 

" The education often leaves much to be desired ; the child 
confided to our care expresses himself in very rough fashion; 
he strikes his comrades and they retaliate, but he soon loses 
these bad manners, and all the poor little children who have 
so much need of affection, like all children of their age, become 
attached to their teacher. They are very happy when they re- 
ceive her caress, and take it as a severe punishment when they 
are deprived of this. So the discipline is reasonably easy. 

"As for the parents, save for rare exceptions, they are always 
very polite and decorous toward the teachers. When they have 
opportunity, they express to us their appreciation for the care 
we have bestowed upon their children." 

The classes enfantines are a direct consequence of the law 
establishing the gratuite of primary education and the subse- 
quent assumption of the teachers' salaries by 

C asses ^^^ State. They have really no separate or- 
Enfantines •' -^ , 

ganization of their own, nor can they exist ex- 
cept in connection with an ecole maternelle or an ecole 
primaire elementaire.^ Nominally they are stipposed to form 
the transition between these two schools, but in actual practice 
they are so closely assimilated with either one or the other that 
it is very difficult to differentiate them. The curriculum is 
the same as tha;t prescribed for the upper section of the ecole 
maternelle,^ but it is naturally a little more advanced. The 

^Decret, Jan. i8, 1887, Art. 2, Gr. V, p. 721. 
- Cf. supra., p. 76. 



THE LOWER SCHOOLS " 8l 

children of both sexes from four to seven years of age are 
admitted there, " and the>' receive with the education of the 
ecolc matcrncllc, the beginning of elementary instruction." 
As a matter of fact, the most useful purpose of these classes 
enfantincs is to provide a kind of elementary instruction for 
the children of those communities that do not fulfil the con- 
ditions for having the '' conventionally obligatory " Scales 
maternclles. There they form a kind of preparatory class for the 
ordinary eleinentary school, and are known under that name, 
cours preparatoire. In fact in many of the communes of the 
country, the three cottrs in the elementary school are the 
cours preparatoire, cours clcmentaire and cours nwyen, the 
cours superieur being entirely lacking. Indeed in the smaU 
towns where there is but a single teacher, it requires- nO' small 
degree oi skill, even with the help of a monitor, to keep three 
different cours fully occupied. 

The ecoles primaires clemcntoires are open tO' all children 
between the ages oi six and thirteen, though in communes 
where there is neither ccole maternelle nor 

classe enfantine the age for entering is lowered Elementary ./ 

to five years. Since 1881, there has been abso- School 
lutely no charge for tuition of any sort, and it 
is chiefly during these last two decades that France has made 
such remarkable progress in education. 

Before 1833, primary instruction in France was in a very 

chaotic condition; in fact, ofificially it had nO' existence.^ 

M. Guizot is responsible for the re-establishment at that time, 

and the important reforms that have occurred since then have 

been due to the inspiration of some great master minds. The 

philosophers Simon and Pecaut, the ministers Duruy and 

Ferry, and the administrators Greard and Buisson have all 

played their parts. At one time, we can trace 

the political influence, the desire to fit each "Z^-^!"^ 
. _ Principles 

citizen of the new republic for universal suf- 

1 Gossot. Essai Critique sur I'Enseigncment Primaire en France de 1800 
a 1900, p. ix. 



82 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

frage ; at a later period, it is the economic needs, when the na- 
tion is brought face to face with the necessity of rendering 
every Frenchman better competent to work for France agri- 
culturally, commercially, and industrially. After all, this 
intense and ever-quickening struggle for economic supremacy 
has pushed the nations of the old world to still greater effo'rts, 
and in the last analysis this single fact will be found to be 
the cause of many of the changes in the school curricula. In 
America, our natural advantages are so great that we have 
hardly begun to feel this pressure behind us, but when one 
compares the life in our own country with that of the con- 
tinental peoples, one begins to realize how much harder the 
struggle for existence must be in the old world. 

In spite of all the work that was done before, it is the Third 
Republic, however, that has made the most striking advances. 
It is all since 1881 that the three cardinal laws concerning 
compulsory attendance, free tuition, and the laicizatiou of both 
instruction and the teaching force have been passed. In spite 
of the enormous strides that public education has made in 
France, as late as 1902, of the 91,239 primary schools of all 
kinds in France and Algeria, 70,441 of these were public and 
20,798 were private.^ In other words, more than twenty 
per cent of the primary schools were out of the 

The Religious ^jj^.^^^ charge and responsibility of the State. 
Bodies ° , 

This has been productive of much trouble, and 

even now France is certainly passing through a crisis in her 
educational history. Tlie influence of the congregations is 
almiost entirely thrown against the governmient and even 
against the republic itself, and at times the government offi- 
cials have met armed resistance in attempting to carry out the 
recent repressive legislation passed against these bodies. 
Since these figures were published, the struggle has actually 
resulted in a separation oi church and State. The time was 
when France was one of the staunchest supporters of the 
Vatican, but to-day even the most conservative admit that the 
majority of the French people no longer owe allegiance to tlie 

1 Statistiquc, VII, 1901-1902, p. xxviii. 



THE LOWER SCHOOLS go 

Catholic Church. In fact, the law of laicization in 1881 suffi- 
ciently proves that. It is a debatable question, however, if the 
instruction in morale which has been subtituted for the old 
religious instruction is satisfactorily supplyiing- the need of 
education of that nature. 

Since 1886, the law has required ^ that every commune shall 
be provided with at least one ecole primaire puhlique, unless 
leg-ally joined to one or more neighboring com- 
munes for school purposes. In IQO2, however, Prevalence 
. • -r- 1 ^^^ Schools 

there were nniety-one communes m trance and 

Algeria that had no public schood, and fifty-one that had no 
school at all. Of these latter, strange to say, only one was 
in Algeria. There were seven hundred and ninety-three 
communes that were legally joined for school purpo'ses. These 
with the 35,667 that support at least one public school make 
up the total of 36,551 communes.^ When the commtme or 
the union O'f communes above referred tO' contains at least five 
hundred inhabitants, a special school for girls must be pro- 
vided. Many o-f the commiunes have a great deal of local 
pride and do even more than the law requires here, for of the 
eighteen thousand four hundred and four communes in 1897 
that had five hundred or less inhabitants, three thousand seven 
hundred and ninety-three supported a girls' public school. Of 
the eighteen thousand one hundred and forty-seven others, one 
thousand two hundred and fifty-three had no public school for 
girls, but six hundred and twenty-five of these supported at 
least one private school.^ Thus there are three distinct kinds 
of ecoles primaires clementaircs, those for girls, those for boys, 
and the mixed.* 

After the passage of the compulsory school law of 1882, 
it was incumbent on the communes to provide adequately for 

T^ Loi, Oct. 30, 1886. Art. 11. Gr. V. pp. 675-676. 

- Statistique, VII. 1901-1902, p. xliii. 

3 Ibid., p. xliv. 

* These were divided as follows in 1902 : boys' and mixed, 44.63X ; gi-i-;', 
23,216; or a total of 67,847. At the same time there were 17.385 privaL.- 
schools, 4,138 for boys, and 13.247 for girls. Ibid., p. xrcvii. 



84 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

the education of their children. As if to cHnch 
the matter, the law o'f 1886 specifically required 
this, and put the burden of the expense on the commimity. 
Although the conseil departemental is practically the sole au- 
thority in determining the number and situation of the schools 
in the department, in case this council refuses to act from 
any trouble over the congreganistc schools or if for any other 
reason the law is obviously being disregarded, the prefect may 
interfere, order the erection of a school and inscribe the ex- 
penses on the budget of the commune/ Tliis whole process 
is rather long and tedious, but it may be done as a last resort. 
The State is often willing to help the poorer communes, 
but only in erecting new buildings, enlarging old ones, or 

buying buildings that may be adapted for 
State Aid , , , , .„ , 

school i^urposes. in nO' case, however, will the 

State aid a commune the value of whose centime communal 
is more than six thousand francs.^ While previous to the 
passage of this law. the amount of assistance a given com- 
mune could obtain was generally dependent upon the activity 
and strength oi the influence it could bring tO' bear on the 
educational authorities, now all is arranged very fairly. The 
amount in any particular case cannot be less than fifteen per 
cent nor more than eighty per cent of the total cost, and this 
still further varies inversely according tO' the resources and the 
debt, and directly according to the importance of the school 
work undertaken by the commune.^ 

The State exercises a careful supervision over the plans and 

the construction of these buildings and demands always that they 

shall conform to certain specified standards.* 

ui ing ^^^ windows are always found on the left of 
Requirements 

the pupils, although some school rooms have 

them on two other sides also. The class rooms are planned 

for an ordinary maximum of fifty pupils, each pupil having 

a surface allowance of 1.25 m. (about seventeen square feet), 

1 Decret, Apr. 7, 1887, Arts. 41-49, Gr. VI, pp. 27-29. 

2 Loi, June 20, 1885, Art. 8, Gr. V, p. 615. s Ibid. 
* Arrete, Jan. 18, 1887, Annexe D, Gr. V, pp. 830-838. 



THE LOWER SCHOOLS 85 

and they must be at least 4 m. (about thirteen feet) in height. 
The schools are usually swept and dusted by the pupils, dele- 
gated in turn by the teacher. It seems rather strange to find 
this same custom prevailing even in the normal schools. 

Sufficient provision is supposed to be made for heating and 
ventilating, but from the American point of view at least, 
these are very inadequate. The rooms are all 

heated by stoves, and even in winter when ^f^ '"^ .^" 
•' \ Ventilating 

the temperature is doiwn tO' fifty deg'rees or 
thereabouts, it is by no means unusual to find one or two 
windows wide open and no fire in the roo'm. When it be- 
comes necessary to close the windows, the last chance for 
ventilation is gone, and only too often the windows are opened 
solely at recreation periods. In many a school that I visited 
last winter, either the temperature was toO' low to enable one 
to sit there comfortably even with an overcoat on, or else 
the air was so close as tO' be unpleasant. In the arrangements 
of their school buildings, the French still have much to learn, 
and they probably will not improve very much until the con- 
struction of the buildings is confided to architects that have 
made a special study of schools and their needs. 

As far as the external appearance of the buildings is con- 
cerned, there is nothing to be desired. Even in the modern 
buildings, however, there are no dressing rooms for the 
pupils, their caps and capes being hung on hooks around the 
walls of the school rooms. Aside from the trouble and un- 
sightly appearance of the clothes, in bad weather the wet capes 
cannot fail to be positively deleterious. The arrangements of 
the water-closets is generally bad and often totally inadequate. 
In one of the largest boys' schools in Paris, which, however, 
is very old and admittedly unsatisfactory, there are only seven 
closets and nine urinals for more than seven hundred boys. 
Here, however, not all the boys have recess at the same time. 
In another school which is supposed to be a model school — in 
many respects the best that I have seen in France, and really 
as far as the teachers and the work are concerned well able 
to serve as a pattern — I have seen on several occasions a 



86 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

whole class wait in line throughout the recess in order to 
visit the closets, and even then be late in returning to the 
class rooin. 

The commune is responsible for the building-s, all that per- 
tains to their lighting, heating, furnishing and general care 

as well as keeping all this plant in good repair. 

The bare essentials in the way of furniture are 
a desk and platform for the teacher, a blackboard, a book 
closet, and desks, benches and clothes hooks sufficient for the 
pupils. Besides there should be a table of the metric system, 
a wall map of France, and in girls' schools the necessary sup- 
plies for teaching the sewing required by the programi.^ 
In the better schools, one finds in addition other charts for 
the teaching of reading, history and natural history. The 
commune must also provide the necessary school registers for 
the pupils, the catalogue of the library (where the school is 
fortunate enough to have one) together with other equip- 
ment necessary for its proper use. The school desks are too 
often old fashioned and are usually intended for twO' pupils. 
There are four different sizes, and thus they serve as best they 
can the varying ages o'f the pupils. They are made entirely of 
wood even to^ the legs, with a slightly-sloping, stationary top, 
and a space inside for books. This latter is in use only during 
school hours, for it is forbidden to have any books in the desk 
overnight. All books that are common property or need to 
be kept at the school are collected and put in the book closet. 
In fact, it is a familiar sight almost anywhere on the continent 
to see even the very young children trudging to school in the 
mo'rning with their books and boxes oi luncheon in a kind of 
knapsack slung over their shoulders. Tliey march along as 
soberly and sedately as though dimly conscious of the great 
weight and importance of the knowledge borne upon their 
backs. The ordinary school seat is a kind of bench generally 
provided with a backpiece and adapted for as many children 
as the desk it accompanies. One advantage of the double desk 
and seat is that in case of lack of accommodations, especially 

1 Decret, Jan. 29, 1890, Art. i, Gr. VI, p. 226. 



THE LOWER SCHOOLS 87 

with the young children, it is often possible to crowd an extra 
pupil with his legs astride the dividing rail, in between the 
rightful occupants of the desk. The disadvantages of this 
multiple seat system, however, are prefectly obvious in France, 
and the expense involved is said to be the only reason for 
not adopting our American system/ The blackboard space 
in the ordinar}^ school room is small, almost universally con- 
fined to a portion of the wall behind the teacher's desk, and 
the quality is even worse than the quantity. On account of 
the prevailing methods, comparatively little blackboard room 
is needed, but certainly this is all the more reason for that little 
being good. In all my inspection of the French schools, I re- 
member seeing only one school where the boards were really 
excellent. That was a city schoo'l where there were slate 
boards. A regular blackboard eraser is quite unknown, the 
ordinary appliance for cleaning being a cloth or a dry sponge, 
though many a pupil and even the teachers do' not always stop 
to find that. 

One is strangely disappointed at the lack of decoration al- 
most everywhere noticeable in the public schools of every 
grade. If the French were not a people noted 

^ , . . . , ... Decoration 

for their artistic sense and appreciation, perhaps 
this want would not be so painfully evident. A Minister of 
Public Instruction said not long since : " The school, such as 
we conceive it, is not merely a place of instruction for youth 
from six to- thirteen years of age; it ought tO' be a homelike 
place where the adult could return tO' the scenes of his youth. 
I desire that these centers of friendship and comradeship 
should be decorated in a manner appropriate to their pur- 
pose." ^ Unfortunately these wishes of M. Leygues are yet 
far from being fulfilled. At that same time, he sent among the 
schools of the country some colored railroad posters (of course 
without the advertisements of the companies) representing 
views in various parts of France. Some of these are accept- 
able, but the majority are far from satisfactory. It seems to 

1 Greard, Education ct Instruction, p. 78. 

2 Circ, Sept. 24, 1899, Gr. VI, p. 898. 



88 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

be the opinion of many of the teachers that these pictures are 
not only of Httle practical value, but on the contrary are ac- 
tually a positive harm. There is really nothing artistic about 
most of them, and about all one can say is that they cover an 
otherwise dingy wall with a dash of bright color. There are 
so many 'beautiful photogravures and other reproductions of 
famous pictures that one can buy very cheaply in France that 
it seems too bad not to make special efforts to put these be- 
fore the eyes of the children. One need not spend a large 
sum at once, but a few francs a year judiciously expended 
would give a school at least an artistic collection of pictures at 
the end of a few years. In striking contrast with the general 
lassitude along these lines, it is only fair to- say that here and 
there oaie finds a school where the teacher has made the most 
of small opportunities, and one sees a few pictures evidently 
mounted and set by the teacher's own hand in neat looking 
frames. Besides this must be noted the practical effort that is 
being made at the boys' ecole normale at Lyon to develop a 
desire for good pictures and to show^ future teachers how this 
desire may be gratified at small expense. 

The school walls are supposed tO' be done over at least once 
a year, but general appearances do not seem' to indicate that 
this provision is veiy faithfully carried out. In the matter 
of decoration, there is one school, at least, where the ideal of M. 
Leygues seems realized, and that is in the girls' ecole nornude 
primaire sn^pericure ait Fontenay-aux-Roses. Tliere is a valu- 
able collection of artistic reproductions of famous pictures here, 
the building withal is most homelike, and it all stands as a 
fitting monument to its founder and late director, M. Felix 
Pecaut. 

One finds a musee scolaire or school museum in almost 

every school, and this is often of great assistance in the object 

lessons. The teacher encourages the children 

ohoo j.^ bring here things that have any unusual in- 

Museums ° 

terest, and they often take great pride in their 

botanical or natural history collection, necessarily small, but 

none the less valuable from an educational point of view. In 



THE LOWER SCHOOLS 



89 



the poorer communities, one also finds the simple scientific 
apparatus that the teacher has been able tO' gather or to put to- 
gether with his own hands in order tO' make clearer the ele- 
mentary notions of physics that the curriculum demands. The 
best of these museums contain specimens fromi the animal, 
vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, as well as samples oi cloths 
and other manufactured articles together with various ma- 
terials for teaching geography, history, and the metric system. 
There are no- less than six schood registers that must be kept 
by the teacher : ^ ( i ) the matriculation register. Here one 
finds a good deal oif information about each in- 

Rcjristcrs 

dividual child, and by means of this can trace 
the progress of the pupil throughout his entire school course, 
or at least as long as he remains in that particular school; 
(2) the class roll; (3) the inventor}^ register, containing a list 
of all the school furniture, for which the teacher is to be held 
responsible; and (4) finally three registers connected with the 
library — ^the catalo'gne, the records of the books loaned, and 
the account of the receipts and expenses of the library. 

Although as early as 1862," a library was ordered to be 
established in each public primary school, the central authori- 
ties seem tO' have given this matter only desul- 
tory attention. In fact, the great school laws , .. 

^ *^ Libraries 

since then hardly refer to the institution, 
though it has nevertheless grown to be quite an important fea- 
ture O'f the outside work of the school. One can readily see, 
in a countr)^ where the free public library idea has never 
reached the development it has in the United States, and where 
there is such an enoirmous quantity of all sorts of printed mat- 
ter (one can hardly call it literature) that is positively dan- 
gerous to put into the hands of children and young people, 
that these school libraries might really have a very important 
influence on the social and moral life of the community. From 
time to time books are acquired through gifts of the Min- 
ister, the departmental authorities or individuals, or are bought 

^ Arreie, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 2:^, Gr. V, p. 772,- 
- Arrete, June i, 1862, Art. i, Gr. Ill, p. 796. 



90 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



with the funds of the library itself. All the libraries g-ener- 
ally purchase their books of a sing-le firm designated by the 
Minister and thus obtain special reductions. The growth in 
the development of these institutions is mainly due to the in- 
spectors working through the teachers. The latter can use 
the libraries as an accessory means of showing the children the 
need of cooperation and a social spirit oii the part of every 
member of the body politic, for here is a case where all can 
work together for the common good and yet all may share in 
the common benefit. In 1902/ there were 43,411 of these 
school libraries with a total of 6,977,503 volumes, and 8,082, 
936 volumes loaned. These figures show a decided increase 
over the corresponding- ones of five years before. The num- 
ber of loans, however, is not so satisfactory, varying from an 
average oi orily twenty-five per year for each library in the 
department of Lozere tO' more than six hundred and eig'ht in 
Pas-de-Calais. 

The small number of text-books in use in the schools will 
immediately attract the attention O'f the American visitor. In 

fact all the material for individual use is very 
T'Cxt "books 

limited. A note-book for monthly lessons, and 

the necessai"}^ paper, pens and pencils for the ordinar}^ school 

work are prescribed for all. Besides this, each pupil mus* 

have: in the coiirs eleinentaire, a slate and an elementary 

reading book ; in the cours moyen, the note-books for the daily 

work, a reading book suitable to this grade, an elementary 

grammar with exercises, an elementary arithmetic, a small 

elementary atlas, and a history of France; in the cours su- 

pericur, the necessary note-books as before, a reading book 

adapted to this grade, a French grammar with exercises, an 

arithmetic, a history of France or a general histoaT- according 

to the program, an atlas, ar.d a text-book for moral and civic 

instruction." The question immediately suggests itself, 

" HoAv dO' the pupils get along with so' few text-books?" The 

answer is ^'ery simple, for they make their ozim. The above 

1 Statistique, VII, 1901-1902, pp. 258-259. 

2 Decrei, Jar.. 29, 1890, Art. 7, Gr. VI, p. 228-229. 



THE LOWER SCHOOLS 91 

phrase, " the note-book 'foi* the daily work " covers the point 
in question. In the discussion on method a Httle later on, this 
matter will come out more clearly. 

Tliere is, however, an admirable method of choosing the 
few text-books that are in use. In fact, it is much more 
democratic than the ordinary practice in our 
country, and we mipdit do well to take a sug- ^ ^°":^ ° 

. ■'' * . '=' Text-ibooks 

gestion from our French cousins. Only too 

often with us, the text-books are adopted by a committee that 
are generally entirely unable tO' distinguish a good from a 
bad one. The adoption of a book is due tO' the persuasive 
powers O'f the representative of a given publishing firm rather 
than to the real merits of the book itself. In France, during 
the first part of July, the regular teachers of each canton 
meet in conference, usually under the presidency O'f the pri- 
mary inspector, tO' consider the text-book question.^ The pub- 
lishers have had nearly a year in which to present their new 
books, and they always receive fair treatment. At this time, 
each book is the subject O'f a special report by one or more 
teachers. This report is then discussed in the conference, and 
a decision is reached. As a result, a list is made up of books ' 
that might profitably be used in the elementary schools. This 
method of choice serves a double purpose: in the first place, 
the chances are very much against an inferior book being able 
to stand the fire O'f all this criticism; and secondly, it is of no 
small advantage to the teachers themselves as a means of 
training their judgiiient and developing their pedagogical 
spirit. All these various lists are brought together in the 
chief town in each department and strbjected to the further 
scrutiny of a commission presided over by the academy in- 
spector and composed of the primary inspectors, the heads of; 
the two normal schools, and the professors and other regular 
teachers in these schools. This commission revises and fi- 
nally detennines the list for its own department subject to the 
approval of the rectoi'. The general result is that only the 
very best books are designated, for although there is no limit 

1 Arrete, Jan. 18, 1887, Arts. 20-22, Gr. V, p. yjz- 



p2 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

to the number, it is only confusing to have a cumbrous list 
to choose from'. Changes in the books in actual use are not 
numerous for they are not only troublesome to bring about, 
but the parents can ill afford the change. The expenses of 
furnishing these school supplies is almost always borne by the 
families, for the free text-book idea has as yet made little 
pro'gTess, although one finds it to a limited extent in some of 
the large cities. Provision is always made, however, for the 
very poor. It is one O'f the duties of the commissions scolaires 
not only to provide them with books and school supplies, but 
also with clothes, and in general to remove every obstacle that 
might prevent the children from going tO' school. 

In spite of the fact that so many efforts have been made 
to improve the attendance, there still remains much to be 
desired. Since 1882, primary instruction has 
been obligatory for all children from six to 
thirteen years of age.^ It must be noted, however, that the 
child may receive this at the public school, at a private school, 
or even at home. All the State demands is that he shall get 
the instruction. Reference has already been made tO' the 
commissions scolaires and their efforts to solve the attendance 
problem, and it certainly seems as though they were success- 
ful in getting the children registered in the schools, if noth- 
ing more. In 1897, out of the 4,636,381 children of school 
age in France proper (that is, between six and thirteen) 4,- 
465,166 were registered as receiving instruction.^ Although 
these latter figures probably represent many thousand double 
registrations, yet when one considers the number of children 
between eleven and thirteen years of age that have gained the 
primary certificate and are free from further attendance, it 
will be readily seen that the number of children entirely with- 
out instruction is reduced tO' a comparatively small figure. 
Being registered in school, however, does not always mean 
much, for in the public schools the average registration in 

1 Loi, Mar. 28, 1882, Art. 4, Gr. V, p. 420. 

- Statistique, VI, 1896-1897, pp. ciii, 201. The corresponding figures were 
not complete in the report for 1901-1902. 



THE LOWER SCHOOLS 03 

December of that year was only 87.6 per cent of these fig-ures 
and on a particular day during that month, the fifth, only 78.7 
per cent were in attendance.^ The corresponding figures for 
the following June and for the fifth of that month were 84.6 
and 73.2 per cent respectively." In some of the worst de- 
partments notably Hautes-Alpes and Lozere, the attendance on 
this specific day in June was only 49.8 and 49.9 per cent re- 
spectively.^ These are the conditions that must be fought, 
for in many districts, as the grazing season approaches, the 
children begin to leave school to tend the animals. In fact, 
it is no unusual sight along the highway tO' see two- goats and 
a cow feeding quietly to'gether, with a child tO' watch each one. 
The children not only lose the work themselves and forget 
much during their absence, but they also- tend tO' break up the 
organization of the classes they leave. 

There is no lack oi law to< reach these cases, but it is too 
loosely enforced, for the commissions scolaires often neglect 
the matter and the maire is afraid of his politi- 
cal future if he attempts tO' force matters. In ^ °^ , 

Enforced 

case a child is absent at least four half-days 
during the same month without satis factoiry excuse, the maire 
summons the parent befoi'e the commission scolaire and ex- 
plains to- him his duty. Upon a repetition O'f the ofifence with- 
in the year, the commission scolaire orders the parent's name 
posted on the bulletin board of the town hall. If this still 
has no effect, the commission or the academy inspector brings 
the matter before the district judge, and he has power to 
punish the offender.* The efforts of these committees in 
Paris have been attended with greater success, and one can 
hardly pass a sing-le mairic in the city without finding a list 
of offenders posted outside on the bulletin board. 

The cantincs scolaires, or school luncheon rooms, and the 
supervised study periods have been of great importance in 
furthering the efforts of these committees, for by means of 

1 Statist ique. VI, 1896- 1897, p. 189. 

2 Ibid., p. 189. 3 Ji,id_^ p. 187. 

* Loi, Mar. 28, 1882, Arts. 12-14. Gr. V, pp. 426-427. 



94 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



these two institutions the parents may send their children to 
school in the morning and be sure that they will be kept there 
throughout the day. After luncheon at noon, the children 
play about the yard under the eye of a teacher. At the close 
of school in the afternoon) there is a similar recreation period, 
and then the pupils are gathered in one of the school rooms 
to spend the succeeding hour or hour and a half in quiet 
study under the supervision of a master. This whole attend- 
ance question is still a grave one, but as M. Compayre has 
pointed out, what is needed is not more laws, but better en- 
forcing of the existing legislation.^ 

^ Compayre, Organisation Pedagogique, p. 269. 



CHAPTER VI 

The Lower Schools (2) 

Under natural conditions the six years of the ecoles pri- 
niaires elcnientaires are divided into three coiirs : the cours 
elementairc, including the pupils from seven 
tO' nine years of age, the cours moyen, those Organization 

from nine tO' eleven, and the cours supericur, ^° ' ? 

' ' bchools 

those fromi eleven tO' thirteen. However, as 
has already been noted, in the country schools one often finds, 
instead of the cours sitperieur, the cours preparatoire at the 
beginning O'f the school course. The fact that the examination 
for the graduating certificate O'f the elementary schools is 
based upon the work of the cours moyen is doubtless partly 
responsible for this state of affairs. On the other hand, in 
more prosperous localities, the work o-f the elementary school 
is continued by an extra year of more advanced work, the so- 
called cours coniplemcntaire. This is intended tO' provide the 
pupils O'f those communities that cannot afford to support an 
ecole primairc superieure with something more than the mini- 
mum amount of knowledge that the lower schools give. This 
higher degree of primary education is, however, even under 
the most fortunate conditions, reserved for a relatively small 
number of the school population. In 1896, of the 2,257,904 
children in France and Algeria between thirteen and sixteen 
years of age — the time when they would naturally be found 
in the advanced schools — ^only 64,658 were enrolled in the 
cours complementaires and the ecoles primaires superieures.^ 
Allowance must be made for a few hundred in the ecoles 
professionnellcs that are not included in these figures and also' 
for a few thousand children that were to be found in the 
secondary schools : that is, the lycecs and the colleges. At thi» 

1 Statistique, VI, 1896- 1897. pp. xcviii-cvi. 

95 



96 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

same date, the total number of children between these ages 
in the primary schools of all degrees was 439,626. Of course 
the great majority of these would represent those above the 
legal age that were still enrolled in the elementary schools. 
In the communes where there is an txole maternelle, the chil- 
dren come to the elementary school with at least a fair start. 
In the others, however, the ecoles prunaires elementaires must 
prepare their own pupils, and so the covtrs preparatoire has 
been organized to do this work. 

The three cours of the elementary school do' not treat three 
distinct or even partially distinct groups of subjects, arbi- 
trarily supposed to be adapted to the mental 
rogress development of the children of the various 

01 btudies ^ 

ages. They all cover exactly the same sub- 
jects, but presented to the pupils in e\-er widening circles. In 
other words, the programs are made up on a concentric circle 
plan. This after aJl is the way young children learn outside 
the schools, and the French programs seem tO' have been par- 
ticularly skilful in adapting this method to school purposes. 
Unfortunately, however, once seized with this idea, they never 
seem to be able to get away from it, and it forms the basis of 
the programs in the primary schools of all grades. This does 
not necessarily mean that all the work oi the two upper cours 
of the elementary school is a mere dry repetition of that of the 
cours elementairc. On the contrary, there is a regular de- 
velopment of the pupil's knowledge, a gradual extension of 
his horizon and with it all an entire lack of monotony. Nor- 
mally, one expects to find twO' divisions in each of the cours, 
but obviously such is not possible in schools that have but a 
single teacher. The promotion from one to the other is not 
by years but at the discretion of the instructor. In fact, one 
hears far more oi the cours than of the divisions oi the cours. 
Naturally the most important thing in the cours elementaire 
is the acquisition of reading and writing, the tools absolutely 
essential to all intellectual progress. With 

Basis of these, however, " it is necessary to teach un- 
the Cours ' . ^ 

der a familiar form, and as much as possible 



THE LOWER SCHOOLS 



97 



by concrete examples, the elementar}^ notions of each group of 
studies."^ "The object of the cours moyen is to lay the foun- 
dation of the various kinds oi kno^vledg■e, ... to endow the 
child with that positive group of ideas without which a man 
to-day will find himself outside society." ^ The distinctive 
feature of the cours superieur, according to M. Greard, is the 
employment of the deductive method, " wherein the child can 
be trained to descend logically from principle to fact, from 
rule to application." ^ 

The discipline in the schools is usually good. The teach- 
ers generally have their pupils well in hand, and almost all 
the children work. However, as has already 
been pointed out, the stimulus for this is too Discipline 

often an objeotive one. A French school ^" *, 

Pupils 

room presents quite a different appearance 
from an American one. When a visitor, an inspector, or even 
the director of the school enters the room, instantly every 
pupil rises, and if it happens to be a boys' school every right 
hand goes up for a military salute. This position is main- 
tained until the word is given to be seated. The custom, is 
decidedly interesting, and it certainly shows a feeling of re- 
spect on the part of the pupils. It would seem to be very 
disturbing for the teachers, however, for it matters not if they 
are in the midst of a dictation exercise or even the quasi-lec- 
ture work of the upper classes, the custom, is rigidly observed. 
This idea O'f respect for visitors and superiors is certainly one 
of the characteristics of the French child. After I had visited 
some schools for two or three days, the little fellows almost 
invariably lifted the hat on meeting me in the street. Thye 
school children, boys and girls alike, wear the black tahlier, 
a kind of long apron or frock that reaches a little below the 
knees and fastens in the back usually with a button at the neck 
and a belt around the waist. It must be an economical way of 

1 Compayre. Organisation Pedagogique et Legislation des £coles Pri- 
maires, p. ii. 

2 Greard, Education et Instruction, p. 84. 

3 Ihid. 



•^8 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

dressing, and it certainly presents a very neat appearance. 
More than nine tenths of the children in the elementary schools 
and even many of those of the normal schools wear this garb. 

One might characterize the general discipline of the schools 
as military or at least semi-military. The pupils always enter 
and leave the school room and the building in double file, often 
singing as they march. In fact, in one school room, at every 
change of lesson, the girls sang while putting away and taking 
out their books. This naturally was an effective means of 
preventing conversation between the lesson periods. While 
the attention of the pupils was not always of the best, prac- 
tically never have I found a class disturbed by talking during 
the progress of the lesson. One never sees children wandering 
into the school room from fifteen to twenty minutes before the 
beginning of the regular work or staying about the buildings 
after the lessons for the day are over. The pupils that arrive 
early assemble in the playground or, in bad weather, in the 
preau, a kind of covered court or play hall attached to every 
school, and from there march to the class rooms. Although 
detention after school hours is one of the recognized means 
of enforcing discipline, I never happened to see a child so de- 
tained. One does find, however, supervised study hours be- 
ing introduced in various schools. It naturally happens that 
some children find it much easier to study at school than at 
home, and besides, sometimes both parents are out at work all 
day and do' not want the children left free to wander about the 
streets after school hours. To meet these conditions, especi- 
ally in the cities, certain teachers in the building are designated 
to take charge of all these children from the close of school 
until half-past five or six o'clock. A few minutes are spent 
in recreation just after the close of the regular session, and 
then the pupils are gathered in a class room for study. Some 
slight extra remuneration is granted by the community, and 
the director and the teachers that have been engaged in this 
work divide this among them. 

Corporal punishment is absolutely forbidden in the public 
primary schools, and the only means of enforcing discipline 



THE LOWER SCHOOLS gg 

that are recognized by the authorities are: 

nuncvais points, or bad marks, the reprimand, ^^^^'''^s and 

. . Punishments 

partial deprivation of the recreation period, 
detention after school in charge of the teacher, and temporary 
exclusion from the school.^ The last may not continue for 
more than three days, although the academy inspector has 
power to exclude for a longer period. The first of these is 
the one most often used, and these mauvais points are some- 
times distributed with a generosity that is really surprising and 
only exceeded by a still greater generosity in the distribution 
of bons points. In fact, in one school that I happened to visit, 
the best boy in the class had gained seven hundred and two 
of these merits since the beginning of the school year. Dur- 
ing the same period the " low boy " had received about seventy, 
and had lost all but nine. When I asked the teacher of this 
same class -what he thought of this system of hons and mau- 
vais points, he replied that when judiciously used it seemed to 
him a good thing, but some teachers were likely to ^abuse it. 
Tliere must be something radically v/rong about a system like 
this, however, that allows one pupil to appear tO' be nearly one 
hundred times as good as his classmate. At the end of the 
month or year, these merit marks are generally exchanged for 
books, of varying value aiccording to the number of marks they 
represent. It may be added, ho'wever, that the rewards are 
usually given for correct recitations or written work, and take 
no account of the effort made by the pupil. " Without doubt, 
the true reward for the good pupil is the satisfaction of a 
task accomplished, the consciousness of intellectual gain com- 
ing through work." ^ Unfortunately these words of one of 
the foremost educators in France are as yet far fronn being the 
gospel of the rank and file of the French teachers. From 
time to time, however, one finds a director or a teacher broad- 
minded enough to comprehend tlieir full significance, but even 
these few are vei-y dubious of their general application, at 
least for the present. 

1 Arretc, Jan. 19. 1887. Annexe B. Arts. 19-20. Gr. V.. p. 825. 

2 Compayre, O^-ganisation Pedagogique, p. 247. 

LGFC 



lOO 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



It is not v&ry long since the schools of France departed 
from the oM Bell-Lancaster system of instruction.^ and some 

, . of its traces may still be found. While the 

Monitors . „ . ,, 

use of monitors is nowhere oincially recog- 
nized, yet with the present organization they are practically 
a necessity. Wherever the three-fold division into cours was 
strictly carried out in the 53,107 schools that had but a single 
classe in 1902,^ it is safe to say that some sort of a monitor 
system was employed to a greater or less extent. Inasmuch 
as at the same time, the total number of ecoles prhnaires 
elementaires both public and private 'was only 85,232, and since 
that time the conditions have not materially changed, one can 
readily see that the fundamental ideas of the old mutual sys- 
tem must still be reckoned with. It is only fair to state that 
these figures do not indicate the comparative number of pupils 
that would come under this influence. In 1902, there were 
700,132 pupils registered in the mixed schools.^ Unfortu- 
nately no figures are at hand to^ show the number of boys and 
the number of girls in the other one-class schools. It seems 
a conservative estimate, however, to- say that at least eleven 
per cent of all the pupils will be found in schools subject to this 
monitorial influence. Tlie general practice is tO' select some of 
the best pupils in the highest division to take turns in drilling 
the youngest children. It goes without saying that there are 
some subjects like morale that must always be taught by the 
teacher, but on the other hand such things as reading and 
simple drill work in arithmetic may readily be entrusted to 
these older pupils. This can hardly be called teaching, but 
after all, this metlwd to-day is oniy an expedient. One can 
easily appreciate the temptation especially for the poorer com- 
munities to glide along under this old regime semi-officially 
sanctioned, and it is not surprising that a little less than a cen- 
tury ago this economical system, at least from the point of 

1 It was to be found in the schools of Paris as late as 1867. Cf. Greard, 
Rducation et Instruction, p. 35. 

2 Statistigue, VII, 1901-1902, p. xlvi. 

3 Ibid., pp. xc-xci. 



THE LOWER SCHOOLS lOi 

view of teaching expenses, spread like wildfire over much of 

the civilized world. 

The old monifcorial system has left other traces on the French 

schools, and one is likely tO' find them there for many years to 

come. These appear in the collective or simul- 

. , . . . ,, , , Method 

taneous method of mstruction, the natural 

and necessary form of primary instruction.^ Individual in- 
struction," M. Greard continues, " if it were applicable to the 
school, would be powerless there. Its action, isolated, cold, 
essentially reflective and logical, is suited only tO' minds that 
are discerning, delicately poised and rich in themselves and 
are continually absorbing the elements of life from' the very 
atmosphere in which they develop. Such are not the condi- 
tions, such is not the environment of popular education. These 
natures for the most part undeveloped, need the inspiration 
of numbers, the stimulus of example, the influence of imitation, 
the swing of class work. But these very principles must be 
applied with care." 

Unfortunately this last caution has not been well heeded, and 
the result is that the individuality of the pupil is much neg- 
lected, for it is always the class that is taught 

and not the individual. In fact, I sometimes . ^.'^. . 

Initiative 

think the teacher loses sight of the individual. 
One finds the same thing among the teachers themselves, a lack 
of individuality, a lack of ability to grasp situations, and to 
adapt means to ends. One of my friends once said : " We 
French teachers stand like open-mouthed yoimg birds wait- 
ing to be fed by their parents. We receive whatever the edu- 
cational authorities choose tO' drop down for us." The teach- 
ers usually teach just as they have been taught, though at times 
one finds some that change their methods from year to year. 
The pupils are not encouraged to any show of individuality and 
have no opportunity to develop any spirit of leadership. 
Much of their work is done under the influence of some rule 
which they are encouraged to quote as often as applied. 
" Teach not much but well " is a good precept, but it is pos- 
1 Greard, Education et Instniction, p. 65. 



I02 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

sible to limit that amount to a very .small quantity. It may 
truthfully be said that the teachers " treat the mind like the 
stomach and choose for it the food that can readily be as- 
similated." ^ This is perfectly soinid and necessary doctrine 
for infants, but one of the objects of the school should be to 
teach the older pupils to choose their own mental food from 
all that is spread before them. I believe firm'ly that what 
the French child really knows, he is isure of, but I also' doubt 
strongly his ability to think for himself much outside certain 
narrow limits. He readily grasps the facts of geography, but 
he is quite at a loss when brought face to face with the facts 
of history and asked to draw therefro'm his own deductions. 
As has been already indicated, one finds comparatively few 
text-books in the elementar}^ schools, and the pupils have to 

make their own. In some schools there is a 
Note-books . , , i r i i • • i i 

special note-book for each subject ; m others the 

subjects are grouped : that is, a note-book for writing, one for 
all home work, and another for class work ; in a third group and 
in by far the largest number of schools, one finds a single 
note-book, cahier unique, for all subjects. This last is much 
the most popular because it is the most economical, the easiest 
to use, and lends itself most readily to inspection. There is a 
variation in this last form of note-book keeping that is most 
commendable. It consists in having two' sets of books, each 
one being used on alternate days. It necessarily entails a great 
amount of work on the teacher, for he exam'ines and marks 
the books regularly each day. The parents are thus kept in 
constant touch with the work at the schoo'l, for every night 
the child carries home a note-book which the parent must sign 
before it goes back to- school the next day. I have seen this 
system tried in some rooms in a larg-e school building, and the 
improvement sho'wn in writing and in general neatness under 
its influence was certainly remarkable. 

The question probaJbly arises : " What goes intO' these note- 
books?" In the first place, in the lower schools at least, the 
children are not given a certain amount of text to study, first, 
^ Organisation et Situation de rEnseignement Primaire, p. 279. 



THE LOWER SCHOOLS IO3 

because they have practically nO' texts and secondly from prin- 
ciple. Every lesson is carefully explained by the teacher be- 
fore it ds assigned tO' the pupils. In history, for example, the 
teacher tells the story of the lesson, occasionally putting- a few 
questions to the children, and at the close dictates a summary 
of the chief points to be written in the note-books. Thus the 
pupil has in the very words O'f the teacher himself the exact 
topics of the lesson for which he will be held responsible. Un- 
fortunately some of the children commit these summaries to 
memory, and come tO' school the next day all primed to" repeat 
them word for word. At the beginning of the next lesson, 
a few minutes will be devoted to a review of the previous 
day's work, and after that the same routine is followed. This 
general method of peptonized mental food may be said to char- 
acterize all the work of the entire primary school system and 
even until one comes tO' the legitimate lecture courses that 
are found in some of the better normal schools, as far as my 
experience goes, the French child is never taught to select the 
wheat from the chaff for himself. All he has tO' do- is tO' as- 
similate what is already selected for him. Undoubtedly there 
is a certain virtue in this for the young, but followed too far 
its influence is only debihtating. 

Again, in arithmetic for instance, the typical examples will 
be first worked on the board by the teacher, fully explained 
and then copied into the note-books by the 
pupils. After that slightly different examples, J^^]^ '." 
but always employing the same general prin- 
ciples, are given tO' tlie pupils to solve independently. These 
are never very numerous, but are all worked through most 
carefully. In fact, three or four examples even of the sim- 
plest sort will occupy an ordinary recitation hour. After an 
example has been worked by all, one of the class is called to 
the board to do it again. Every step of the calculation is 
gone over very dehberately, and the reason for every operation 
stated most minutely. The other pupils then correct their 
u^rk from this model. No effort is made to induce the class 
as a whole to take part in the exercise, unless, it may be, to 



I04 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

call on them to recite a certain rule in concert. If the pupil 
at the board gets into trouble, it is a rare thing to find a 
teacher that endeavors to help him reason out the difficulty. 
After making a perfunctory effort of this nature, he calls upon 
another member of the class, evidently assuming that the mass 
can learn nothing from the struggles of the individual, and 
that time is too valuable to spend upon a single pupil. When 
a given sdholar is thus called up for recitation, he is almost in- 
variably marked by the teacher, and often that mark is an- 
nounced to his fellows as well as to him. At such times, it is 
evidently the desire of the teacher to find out how "much that 
particular pupil knows, whether or not the rest of the class 
learn anything from the interrogation. The result is that 
although each one is not called on very often, when that time 
comes, he is questioned pretty thoroughly, and this method 
becomes more and more striking as the age of the pupil in- 
creases. In fact in some of the more advanced schools, I 
have visited classes where not more than three or four pupils 
were called upon during the whole hour. 

Since the organization of the schoo^ls in 1882, every pupil 
has had to- have a cahier de devoirs mensuels.^ This is a note- 
book with which the child is prowded when 

°" / he first enters school, and which must be re- 
Record 

tained throughout his course. From time to 
time, various regulations have been issued as to how this book 
should be kept. In the last,^ however, M. Leygues left the 
details entirely to the teachers. In general, some of the first les- 
sons of each month are entered here regularly just as they are 
done by the pupils. These are all examined and marked very 
carefully by the teacher, sometimes even indicating the rank 
that the particular child holds in the class. The subjects of 
the lessons are so chosen that one can follow with reasonable 
accuracy the progress of each pupil in each subject from the 
very beginning of his school career until the end. These books 
are kept at the school and are sent home once each month 
for the signatures of the parents. 

1 Arrets, July 27, 1882, Art. 13, Gr. V, p. 455. 

2 Circ, Jan. 13, 1895, Gr. VI, p. 596. 



THE LOWER SCHOOLS 



105 



There is another note-book in general use throughout the 
schools/ called the cahier de roulement. Though primarily 
instituted to facilitate the work of the in- 
spectors, it also furnishes them an admirable J^'^^^ « 
^ ... . Rouletnenl 

comparative study oi the abilities of the pupils ; 

and where it is sent home for the inspection of the parents, 
it enables them to see how their children are progressing 
with reference to their classmates. Each class has one of 
these books, and in this each pupil in turn records the work 
of one day. By merely glancing at this the inspectoi' can see 
exactly what the teacher has been doing, if the pupils are well 
classified, and if the class is making satisfactory progress. In 
a word he has here a kind of record of the work oi the teacher 
for each lesson, kept by the pupils themselves (for instead of 
writing in their reg^ular note-books they enter the day's work 
■directly here) , a sort of composite class note-book. The use 
of this cahier de roulement is really one of the best possible 
expedients for keeping up the work of the school, for the 
teacher necessarily feels that everything he does, almost every- 
thing he says is coming directly under the eye of the in- 
spector. Thus the latter, although he cannot visit the school 
very often feels that he can still keep in touch with what is 
being done there. 

From time to time there is very serious opposition made to 
the amount of home work that the children in the primary 

schools are required to do. And this is not en- ^^ ,,^ , 
^ 1 1 J • Home Work 

tirely without reason, for the school day is a 

long one, ordinarily from half past eight until half past eleven 

in the morning and from one to four o'clock in the afternoon. 

In any case, the length of the daily sessions is always the same, 

with a recreation period of fifteen minutes in the middle of 

each. The week-day hohday in France is on Thursday, and 

Saturday is a full school day like the other days of the week. 

Besides all this school work, there is a varying am'Ount of 

home work which increases regularly with the age of the 

pupils. At first this is only about half or three quarters of 

1 Circ, Jan. 13, 1895, Gr. VI, p. 596. 



Io6 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

an hour per day in the second year of the cours elementaire, 
but in the upper grades ,oif the school one finds that the very 
best of the pupils are expected to spend at least two hours per 
day outside oi school. It is in just such instances as these 
that the system of supervised study periods previously referred 
to is an especial boon, for the children can find in the school 
room that quiet and atmosphere of study that are practically 
unknow^n at many of their homes. From our point of view, 
the amount oi outside work is entirely too much for children 
that are about on a par with those of our upper grammar 
grades. On the other hand, however, it must be said that the 
number of prepared lessons practically never exceeds four- 
teen or sixteen per week even in the higher classes, so^ there 
still remains about the same number of hours out of the thirty 
when the mental strain is not so severe. 

" The chief object of the ecolc priniaire is to form the man 

in the child, but it ought at the same time to prepare him as 

much as possible for practical life, for the 

Purpose of future that lies before him." ' To attain this 

the ecole , , . , , 

purpose tne elementarv school programs rec- 
pnmaire ' ' - . 

ognize three aspects oi education — moral, 

intellectual, and physical. 

" Elementary primaiy instruction includes : moral and civic 
instruction; reading and writing; the Frenc*h language; arith- 
metic and the metric system ; history and geo- 
Subjects of pr-raphy, especially of France; object lessons and 

Instruction !-> i ^ t. -' . . i. . . . 

the first scientific notions, chiefly in their ap- 
plication to agriculture; the elements O'f drawing, singing, and 
manual training (needle work in the girls' schools) ; and gym- 
nastic and military exercises." ^ The actual arrangement of 
these various subjects in the ctnploi dii temps, or daily pro- 
gram, is left to the teacher or director of the school, subject 
only to the approval of the primary inspector. There are, 
however, some general suggestions tO' aid in this work. 

Since 1882, moral and civic instruction has headed the list 

1 Organisation et Situation de I'Enscignenient Primaire, p. 297. 

2 Decret, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 27, Gr. V, p. 725. 



THE LOWER SCHOOLS 1 07 

of the required subjects in the elementar}' schools.' The moral 

aspect, until that time entirely obscured by the 

religious instruction, then for the first time ^lora 

. ... Instruction 

took a predommant place m the work of the 
French schools. It represents the efforts of the people who 
had just forced religious teaching out of the program to find 
an effective and at the same time noii-sectarian means of de- 
veloping the ethical side of the child's nature. Undoubtedly, 
the previous religious instruction was entirely formal and 
empty, for it consisted merely in going through the various 
articles O'f the catechism without comment, but it is very 
doubtful if its present substitute is much richer in real content. 
It savors too much of the narrow minded doctrines of our 
Puritan ancestors. I have visited many classes and talked with 
still more people on this very subject, but I have yet tO' find a 
single class where the teacher ever rose to- any ethical basis 
above the idea of reward and punishment. Whatever may 
be their real feeling on the matter, their teaching never seems 
to reach the point of doing right for right's sake. I am not 
quite ready, however, to agree with Matthew Arnold when he 
says : "All direct religious instruotion, Catholic or Protestant, 
is entirely banished from the French schools, and the ' moral 
and civic instruction ' which is the substitute, seemed to me, 
so far as I could judge from the manual of it which I perused, 
and from the many lessons in it which I heard, oi little or no 
value." ^ 

One of the most prominent educators in all France said to 
me not long since: "The work in morale has not succeeded 
here in France, for the present generation is 
evidently not sO' good as the last." Among ^'^^"^ 

-^ ° . . Opmion 

the teachers themselves, there is a decided dif- 

1 It is beyond the limits of this study to take up in detail the subjects 
of the elementary school curriculinn and to consider the special method 
of eaoh. Some subjects, however, have been selected for particular com- 
ment because they seemed to present certain features that could not or 
might not be readily learned from the official program. 

2 Matthew Arnold, Report on Elementary Education in Germany, Szvit- 
zerland and France, 1886, p. 19. 



I08 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

ference of opinion on this matter. One is pretty sure, how- 
ever, to find those people that have broken away from this 
earHer rehgious training — ^and there is a vast number of these 
even among the teachers to-day — staunch supporters of the 
new regime, while the church adherents of whatever faith will 
as stoutly oppose it. From a theoretical point of view, one 
would expect the children to become very tired O'f this lay 
preaching and grow to look upon it all like the other subjects 
of the schoo'l curriculum, tO' be studied and applied only at 
certain periods and never to become a real integral part of 
their natures. 

It is always dangerous to make generalizations, especially 
on a subject of this sort where one finds almost as many vari- 
ations as persons. It must be added, however, that some 
teachers succeed remarkably well with this most difficult of all 
subjects to bandle. It is of course too much tO' expect to 
send children of eleven or thirteen years of age out into the 
world with a moral code or standard that will serve them 
through life, but there is good opportunity for success in teach- 
ing such children the ideas of protection of song birds, kind- 
ness toward dumb animals and similar notions o-f a practical 
nature that will appeal to their young minds. And this is 
exactly the line of work that the most successful of the teach- 
ers follow. 

This whole religious matter is one of the burning questions 
of the day in France, and the trouble over the congregations 

is stirring the people to the very depths. The 
e e igious j-g(,gj^|- legislation can be regarded as only a 

continuation of the work of laicizatioii begun 
in the sdiools as a whole a little more tban twenty years ago, 
and still earlier than that in some of the northern departments. 
But for these efforts to rid the schools of this religious domin- 
ation, France would soon be in the same position in that re- 
gard that Spain is to-day. The disturbance, however, will 
probably be only temporary, and in the end the ideas of free, 
public education will be more firmly than ever imbedded in 
the popular mind. 



THE LOWER SCHOOLS IO9 

In spite O'f what has been said 011 the general method in arith- 
metic, I feel sure that the French children age for age are 

fully as strong as our own in the mechanical 

™, . , , , . Arithmetic 

operations. i hey certanily have plenty or 

drill in that work. Much importance is laid upon mental arith- 
metic even from the very first. At least as early as the second 
year of the elementaiy school, they begin tO' use a shortened 
form of division. There is certainly a considerable saving in 
writing figures, but it demands a greater amount of care and 
mental efTort. The children, however, acquire a rapidity and 
degree of accuracy that is most praiseworthy. Subjoined is 
a page taken from a text-book in arithmetic ^ which will show 
the exact method of pro'cedure. It will also' give some idea 
of the extent tO' which the use of rules is carried. 

" Shortened fonn of division. 
Rule. — In actual practice, in order to shorten the work, we 
subtract at the same time that we multiply. 
Example. — Given to divide 24961 by 137. 
24961 137 

1 126 182 

0301 
027 
Divide: How many times is 137 contained in 249? or rather 
13 in 24? It is contained once. 

Multiply and subtract: i X 7, from 9^2; 1X3, from 
4=1; I X I , from 2=1. 

Bring down one Hgure: We bring down the next figure, 6. 
Divide: How many times is 137 contained in 1126? or 
rather 13 in 112? It is contained 8 times. 

Multiply and subtract: 8 X 7 = 56, from 56 = 0, and w^e 
carry 5 ; 8 X 3 = 24, -f 5 == 29, from 32 = 3, and we carry 
3;8X 1=8, + 3=11, from 11=0. 

Bring dozmi one figure: We bring down the next figure, i. 
Divide: How many times is 137 contained in 301 ? or rather 
13 in 30? It is contained twice. 

1 Leyssenne, La Premiere Annce d'Arithmetique, p. 69. 



no PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

Multiply and subtract: 2 X 7= 14, from 21 =7, and we 
carry 2; 2 X3 = 6, + 2 = 8, from 10^2, and we carry i ; 
2 X I = 2, + I = 3. fi'om 3 = 0. 

The division gives a quotient of 182 and a remainder of 2y.'' 

Then follow twelve examples by way of illustration, and 
at the very bottom of the page: "What is the rule for the 
shortened form o'f division?" 

This shows that even modern text-books retain traces of the 
old catechetical form. 

In all work in denominate numbers, the French have an 

immense advantage over the English-speaking peoples. It is 

quite unnecessaiT to^dav tO' suggest any iusti- 
Metric System ^ . , , ^ . ^ ,^^ / ■* 

rication of the metric system, tor our educators 

already generally appreciate its advantages. The matter was 
most forcibly and concretely brought to my attention, how- 
ever, in a lower division of a coiirs superieur. The boys would 
probably average about eleven years of age. The teacher 
spent less than half an hour in showing the pupils the relation 
between the measures of volume and capacity, and the method 
O'f transition from one tO' the other. As far as one could judge 
from the appearance O'f the class, every one seemed tO' under- 
stand the explanation and to be able to apply it. Although 
boys of this age would probably be perfectly familiar with 
these measures, yet how many American boys even after weeks 
of work could change from cubic inches tO' quarts with any de- 
gree of facility? The fact that perhaps we never want to 
make this particular transition has no bearing on the prin- 
ciples involved, namely that the metric system is founded upon 
some logical and scientific basis, while there are few things in 
the world more utterly unrelated and difficult tO' understand 
than our Enghsh systems oi weights and measures. 

Work in geometry is carried on simultaneously with that 
in arithmetic. It is always, however, of a very elementary 
sort, and even in the higher grades of the 
lower schoo'ls one finds very few strictly geo- 
metrical proofs. Most of the demonstrations are purely arith- 
metical, and in fact the geometry as a whole is not much un- 



THE LOWER SCHOOLS 1 1 j 

like the mensuration formerly required for entrance by some 
of our scientific schools. 

Reference has already been made to the rapidity with' which 
French children learn to read and write, and they do both 
well. The general excellence in these two sub- 
jects is everA^where apparent. I am rather in- R^^^mg and 

1-1 1 • , , r , „ . Writing 

clmed to thmk that some of the excellence m 

writing is gained at the expense oi speed, but one would be 
willing to take a Httle more time in order tO' have the neat, well 
written caJiicrs dc rouleinenf that I fotmd in most of the 
schools. The children have not the same liberty as ours in re- 
gard to the size of the letters, but there are three distinct 
sizes, large, medium, and small, with heights of six or seven, 
four or five, and three millimeters respectively. Not only 
musf-each pupil be able to write any one of these sizes as the 
case requires, but also in most of the better schools there are 
different types of letters — the French call them the round, the 
mixed, and the Gothic. The first is very much like our verti- 
cal hand except that every dowruward stroke is heavily shaded ; 
the second has the slant of the ordinary writing with the 
letter form and shading of the round ; the Gothic is similar to 
our old Enghsh script. Two different kinds of pens are used, 
for no one kind is suitable for all these styles O'f letters. The 
children become very proficient in the various types, and one 
can readily see what attractive note-books might be made 
with the combinations. 

The woa'k in geog'raphy and history is confined almO'St ex- 
clusively tO' France and her colonies, most of the other parts 
of the world receiving only hasty consideration. 

These two subjects illustrate the concentric ^^f^^^ ^ 
^ and History- 

method that has already been briefly treated, 

but some concrete examples taken from a suggested division 

of the subject matter by months may make this considerably 

clearer. 



112 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 









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THE LOWER SCHOOLS 



113 



This partial program in geography does not include all the 
subjects for the month of October, but there are enough here 
to indicate the general plan, and to show how the work for 
each cours is a little more difficult, and covers a somewhat 
larger field than that of its predecessor. Map study is begun 
in the cours elementaire, and the pupils begin to draw for 
themselves in the next grade. This map-drawing is a very 
important part of the geography work, and the pupils learn to 
do this accurately and remarkably quickly. In general, how- 
ever, I am afraid that the memory still plays an altogether too 
important part in the geography lessons. Many times these 
become a mere naming of the departments with their chief 
towns or a dry recapitulation of statistics that are interesting 
and valuable in themselves, but have little significance for chil- 
dren of primary school age. However that may be, on leav- 
ing the elementary school, the pupils are undoubtedly thor- 
oughly familiar with the geographical and historical facts of 
their own oountrj^, but whether they appreciate even in a 
small way the great fundamental principles underlying the 
changes that France has experienced in both these aspects of 
her national life is quite another matter. 

Singing occupies the last place on the program of the sub- 
jects of intellectual education, and its relative importance seems 

tO' be fairly measured by the position it holds. 

TT -1 1 11 1 • • 1 Singing 

Until the cours iiwyen, all the music is taught 

by ear, and it consists almost entirely of one-part exercises. I 
have heard some vei"y good singing indeed, but on the whole, 
there still remains much tO' be desired. Tlie interest in this 
subject, however, seems to be increasing, for since 1895,^ there 
have been two grades, an elementary and an advanced, of the 
special certificate for the teaching of singing. 

Although physical education occupies one third of the pro- 
grams, its practical value is far from, being ap- 
preciated. In fact, in their attitude toward <^ymnastics 
. . . 1 ^u TT It, and Military 

physical exercise in general, the rrench boys ■q^.^j 

must be classed with the Germans rather than 
1 Decret, Apr. 29, 1895, Gr. VI, p. 610. 



114 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

with the Americans or the EngHsh. Very few of them seem 
to find any real pleasure in the mere modicum of this work 
that one finds in the schools. The official program is quite 
a formidable looking document, but I seldom found it fo'l- 
lowed. Anything like gymnastic apparatus is almost unknown 
in the equipment of the elementary schools. Practically all the 
swimming exercises referred to in the program are performed 
on dry land, for very few of even the higher schools ha\'e 
any other facilities for this work. The boxing is equally 
formal. The pupils go through the various movements — and 
they are more complicated than ours, for the French use their 
feet as well as their hands — ^but have only imaginary oppo- 
nents. The only military drill that I ever found was con- 
fined to simple marches and squad evolutions entirely without 
arms. Even this is found but rarely. 

One thing that tended to pre\'ent any use of gymnasium 
apparatus even when the ordinary conditions were otherwise 
favorable was the law holding teachers person- 
Responsibility ^jj |j^,|jj^ ^Qj. ^jj accidents to their pupils while 

for Accidents , , • , ah \ 

under their charge. At all events there was an. 

actual decrease in the number of public schools that had a 
more or less complete gymnasium, from sixty-two hundred 
and thirty-four in 1892 to fifty-one hundred and forty in 1897 
and to forty-two hundred and seventy-four in 1902.^ More- 
over, there seems to be a generally well-established feeling 
against the so'-called heavy apparatus of all kinds, so although 
the State has assumed ^ the responsibility previously imposed 
upon the teachers, there does not seem tO' be any immediate 
prospect of the gymnasium returning to popular favor. 

Comparatively little is done in manual training. In the two 

lower cours, the subject matter is confined chiefly tO' paper 

folding, simple cardboard constructions and 

Manual modelHng for the boys, and to sewing and 
Training ,, , r 1 • , t , 

needle work for the girls. In the coiirs su- 

perieur, the 'boys are supposed to become acquainted with the 
^ Statistique, VI, 1896-1897, p. xlv; VII, p. xlii. 
- Loi, July 20, 1899, Gr. VI, p. 893. 



THE LOWER SCHOOLS H^ 

common tools employed in wood and iron work, but the fre- 
quent absence of this upper cours and the fact that in the 
61,296 school buildings in France and Algeria in 1902, only 
seven hundred and fifty-nine had a work-shop for manual 
training, with nearly O'Ue fifth of these in the department of 
the Seine/ will give some idea of the amount oi this kind of 
instruction given. The little found is confined to a few of the 
larger towns and cities. Although the expense of any ade- 
quate installation is a great obstacle tO' satisfactory work of 
this nature, yet even the idea does not seem tO' be strongly pres- 
ent, for there are plenty of ways O'f introducing cord work, 
or grass braiding and weaving that could be employed in even 
the poorest communities. Although the normal schools attach 
considerable importance to this subject, yet the teachers have 
little opportunity to apply what they have learned there in the 
classes O'f the lower schools. The most of the work done, 
however, shows a lack O'f unity and a poverty of content. 
The sewing and needle work of the girls is much more satis- 
factory, although even here the formal aspect is too often 
predominant. 

The wish of the authorities to adapt the programs of the 
manual w^ork to the needs of the various sections is well evi- 
denced by the introduction of object lessons connected with 
the life of the sai'lor or the fisherman in the departments bor- 
dering on the sea. A similar adaptation is found in the work 
O'f the girls, for in the lace-making country of the north much 
attention is devoted to designing, and in the silk provinces of 
the south, the culture O'f the silk worm is the subject of no 
little concern. 

In the strictly rural schools, the manual work is entirely 
devoted to agriculture. For some years past, France as well 
as other countries has been grappling with the . . , 

r 1 1- Agriculture 

problem o'f the depopulation of the country dis- 
tricts. As a means O'f counteracting this urban movement of 
the people, the authorities have given much attention during 
the last six or eight years to improving the agricultural con- 

1 Statistique. VII, p. xli. 



Il6 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

ditions.^ Some of the departmental authorities have become 
even more actively interested, and in several departments, ac- 
cording to Mr. Brereton," have met with varying success. 

The reason for the general lack of success is due tO' the 

impractical nature of the work attempted. " The child has in 

his head the names of grasses he has never seen, 

Impractical q,£ manure oi whose co-mposition and properties 
Nature of , . ,., . tt i 1111 

the Work "^ ^^ alike Ignorant. He draws on the black- 
board or in his copy book all the parts of the 
plough, and he does not know why one ploughs, or why one 
ploughs deep in one place and shallow in another. . . . There 
is a necessary link between the object and the lessons he leanis 
by heart, but this link escapes him, because there is nothing 
given in the teaching of a nature to permit him to lay hold 
of it." ^ The government is doing its best tO' encourage this 
agricultural work by offering prizes not only to the pupils but 
also to the teachers that have children among the prize Avinners. 
Tlie French pupils are not troubled with a great number of 
written examinations in course, though there are plenty oi 
them out of course. There are, however, fre- 

Reviews and q^e^t reviews. The last week of each tri- 
Examinations . . ^ , 

mester is generally devoted to a review of the 

preceding three months ; the first week in July is occupied with 

the review of the last trimester; and finally the last three weeks 

are spent in a general review oi the work of the year. The 

examinations that come at these periods are almost entirely 

oral, the only written ones being those in spelling, composition, 

arithmetic, and writing. 

The natural culmination of the elementary school course is 

the certiUcat d'etudcs prunaires element aires. This is given as 

the result of an examination, partly written 
Primary ^^^ partly Oral, -held near the close oi the 

school year before a cantonal commission. 
The members of this commission are appointed by the rector 

1 Cf. especially Circ, Jan. 4, 1897, Gr. VI, pp. 745-746. 

2 Brereton, The Rural Schools of Northwest France, pp. 117-141. 
^Rapport de I'Inspecteur d' Academic, quoted in Brereton, ibid., p. 120. 



THE LOWER SCHOOLS 



117 



cm nomination oif the academy inspector/ and the primary in- 
spector is president o'f this body ex oificio. For the examina- 
tion O'f girls, women necessarily form a part of the member- 
ship of the committee. Each candidate must be not less than 
deven years old on September 30th of the year in which he 
presents himself." 

The written examination ^ precedes, and the candidate 
is required to pass this with an average of fifty per cent 
in order tO' be admitted to the oral examination. This 
written part consists of about fifteen lines of 
dictation which serves as a test of both ( i ) ^ ritten 

Examination 

writing and (2) spelling; (3) twO' questions 
in arithmetic based on the metric system; (4) a simple com- 
position ou a subject taken from, moral or civic instruction, 
from geography and history, or from the elementary science 
lessons. Besides these, the girls are required tO' do an ordi- 
nary piece of sewing, and the boys have a few written questions 
on the work in agriculture, if they are from the country, or a 
simple exercise in drawing, if they come from the city schools. 
The oral or second part of the examination, consists of ( i ) 
the reading and explanation of a passage selected at random 
by the examiner, together with the recitation of 
a few lines of poetry, and (2) some simple -^ ^^ . 

^ -^ ^ \ ^ Examination 

questions in geography and history."* The 
subjects of the first series, except the writing and spelling are 
allowed one hour each, while the whole second part of the 
examination does not last more than fifteen minutes for each 
pupil. Each of these seven subjects is marked on a scale of 
ten, and thirty-five represenlts the minimum passing mark. 
The girls and those boys for whom the questions in agricul- 
ture are obligatory may also take the examination in drawing 
if they choose. A mark of at least five in this subject assures 

^ Arrete, July 24, 1888, Arts. 254-255, Gr. VI, p. 113. 

2 5m//. Adm., 1899, XLVI, p. 14. 

3 Arrete, July 31, 1897, Arts. 256-257, Gr. VI, pp. 783-784. 
*Arrete, July 24, 1888, Art. 258, Gr. VI, p. nS- 



Il8 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

the mention O'f that fact on tlieir certificate. This question, 
however, is purely optional. ^ 

The possession of this primary certificate releases the holder 
from any further obligation to attend school. The examin- 
ation, however, is so' notoriously easy that its 
Advantages . , . , • n 

paS'Smg does not miply any very great mtdlec- 

tual attainments. More than thait, the examination is based 
only on the work of the cours moycn, wdiich is decidedly a 
narrow field. The teachers have tried tO' obviate this by dis- 
couraging the pupils that have only finished the work of this 
cours from attempting the examination, but not always with 
much success. There is still that eager haste on the part of 
both parents and children tO' gain this government sanction for 
leaving school. 

Besides, the valuations of the various subjects are far from 

equitable, for ten is the maximum mark for each ; that is, the 

examination in spelling, or in writing, has as 

Criticisms , . , , . . , . 

much weight as that m arithmetic or composi- 
tion, and twice as much as that in either geography or history. 
The fact, too, that the examination does not cover all the sub- 
jects of e^'en the cours may en necessarily throws added influ- 
ence on the required ones at the expense of the others during 
the last months before the examination. At this same period, 
moreover, the teacher is tempted tO' devote himself too ex- 
clusively to those pupils that are coming up for their examin- 
ations, and to resolve their work into a kind of " cram." But 
after all these are the attendant evils that accompany almost 
eveiy exalnination system. 

One of the more progressive of the Paris directors told me 
a short time ago that some O'f his colleagues had long rec- 
ognized the insufficiency of this examination but had thus 
far striven in vain to have the standard raised. He further 
complained that the conditions now were not so strict as for- 
merly because to-day every pupil that succeeds in the written 
part of the examination is almost sure to pass the oral. Un- 

1 For an account of an examination for the primary certificate, cf. Ap- 
pendix B. 



THE LOWER SCHOOLS HO 

satisfactoiy though the present requirements may be, time and 
effort might better be spent in increasing the number of pupils 
that gain the certificate rather than in raising the existing 
standard. In spite of the fact that the number of successful 
candidates has increased almost steadily from 175,675 ^ in 
1893 to 209,168 ^ in 1904, on the average not quite eighty per 
cent O'f the competitors, this number still represents consider- 
ably less than one sixth of all the children in the country eleven 
and twelve years O'f age. 

The successful candidates for this primary certificate during 
the last five years have been as follows : ^ 

1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 

Boys 106,026 107,674 111,749 112,929 113,390 

Girls 91,110 94,574 95,i8i 94>384 95,778 

Total 197,136 202,248 206,930 207,313 209,168 

Per cent 'boys 80 70 80 80 81 

Per cent girls 82 83 83 83 83 

Notwithstanding tlie accompanying drawbacks, this primary 
certificate has certainly been of great value in bringing up the 
average of the poorer schools. It sets practicailly the same 
standard for all the elementary schoo'ls everywhere, and gives 
the teachers some more definite object to reach than the mere 
vague idea of implanting in each pupil's mind the funda- 
mental principles of primary education. It gives them, too, 
some measure whereby they can estimate in a rough way the 
success that they have attained in their efforts. 

1 Statistique, VI. 1896-1897, p. clxviii. 

2 Bull. Adm., Dec. 24, 1904, LXXVI, p. 1003. 

3 Bull. Adm., LXX, p. 1115; LXXIV, p. 1308; LXXVI, p. 1003. 



CHAPTER VII 

The Upper Schools 

" Primary education necessarily has its limits. In the last 
analysis it includes and it includes only that which it is not 
possible to be ignorant o'f and yet be a man, 
that which it is indispensable tO' know in order 
to be a useful man." ^ This fairly typifies the work of all 
branches of the primary school, the first part representing- the 
task of the lower schools and the second that of the upper. 
The latter are the expression of an attempt to satisfy the wants 
of the great mass of the people for something more than the 
mere minimum of knowledge. They form " the natural trans- 
ition, not between elementary education and secondary classi- 
cal education, but rather between primary studies and the 
studies of the schools of applied science. ... In a word, 
theirs is the task of furnishing the under officers for the great 
army of work and industry, for which, as M. Greard has 
said, modern secondary instructio'U provides the leaders." " 

There are several groups of schools included in this term 

upper : ^ the cours complementaires, the ecoles priniaires su- 

perieures, the ecoles manuelles d'apprentissage 

Qasses of ^^^ ^■^^ ecoles professionnelles. Tliese upper 
Schools , , ... .... - 

schools are practically coordmate groups ot 

schools that are adapted to the various needs or means of the 

communities which they serve, for they all continue directly 

the work of the lower schools. The ecoles primaires su- 

perieures may be taken as the norm, the cours complementaires 

being substituted in places that cannot afford the expense of 

installation that these schools require, and the ecoles manuelles 

1 Greard, Education et Instruction, Enseignement Secondaire, II, p. 76- 

2 Duplan, L' Enseignement Primaire a Paris, II, p. 7. 

3 That is, the upper schools of the primary system. 

120 



THE UPPER SCHOOLS I2i 

4'apprentissage and the ecoles professionnelles as their names 
imply, providing a minimum of intellectual work with the 
maximum of practical. These last are higher class apprentice 
schools. As in the other primary schools, all instruction is ab- 
solutely free, and besides there are many scholarships, so that 
O'ften e\'en the expenses of clothes and food are borne by the 
State or the corriimunity. As has been already indicated, how- 
ever, these schools are open to- only a limited number of 
children, and naturally these places are filled by the most prom- 
ising pupils. So that as a matter oi fact, the child of aver- 
age ability in France is educated at the expense oi the State 
only through the lower schools. The justification for this is 
that this higher kind of education is expensive, and the State 
IS not willing to undertake the burden unless reasonably sure 
that the community will be repaid for it. 

M. Guizot was the first tO' appreciate the need oi something 
beyond the ver}^ elementary schools, and he tried to establish 

these higher schools as early as i8^^. in order _. ^ . . 

^ . -^ , . First Schools 

to fill the gap that existed between the primary 

and the secondary grades and to^ offer to a great class of the 
people an opportunity "for " reaching a certain intellectual de- 
velopment without imposing upon them the necessity of seek- 
ing it in the secondary schools, so expensive, and at the same 
time so perilous." ^ 

The few schools that were started had a more or less pre- 
carious existence. Finally in 1878, the central authorities be- 
came more interested, and the budget for that year carried 
T 10,000 francs for encouraging the foundation of these 
schoo'ls.^ Since that time, their number has increased rapidly, 
and to-day, although by no means the largest of the State's 
various educational interests, they are assuredly one O'f the 
most important. The phrase of M. Duplan quoted above, " to 
supply the under officers," really gives the key tO' the develop- 
ment O'f these schools. In other words, France trusts to their 
pupils to improve her commercial, agricultural, and industrial 

1 Guizot, Motives of the law of 1833. Gr. II, p. 4. 

2 Circ, May 16, 1878, Gr. IV, p. 785- 



122 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

position, and a study of the programs of these schools will give 
some idea of the effort she has made to prepare them for 
their mission. 

Although the cours coniplhnentaire and the ecole primaire 

superieure represent different developments of the same idea, 

in actual practice there is quite a wide distinc- 

Continuation ^j^^^ between them. The first of these cannot 

Classes 

exist by itself but is nothing more than an 
annex to some ecole primaire eleyncntairc and is in charge of 
the director of that school. It is a prerequisite, however, that 
the lower school should have its three cours completely organ- 
ized and that the director should hold the brevet superieiir.^ 
The length of the course in the cours complementaire is limited 
to one year, whereas in the ecole primaire superieure it may 
be two or three years or even longer." ^ Not only is the equip- 
ment of the former much more limited than that of the latter, 
but the grade of the instructors is distinctly lower. The 
teacher in the cours complementaire is a simple instituteiir, 
and in respect to appointment and classification is reckoned 
with the teachers of the lower schools. The ordinary teacher 
in the ecole primaire superieure, however, holds the certiUcat 
d'aptitude au professorat in the normal schools and so' is ap- 
pointed, promoted or removed directly by the Minister. 

These continuation classes are established in the same gen- 
eral way as the other primary schools; the installation and 
maintenance of the buildings and the additional remuneration 
of the teachers are at the expense of the community, while the 
regular salaries are paid by the State. The State, however, 

will not do this unless the commune agrees 
State Aid , . , , . . , , , ,- 

tO' support this school just as it does the oblig-a- 

tor\^ schools for at least five years, and furthermore it will with- 
draw its support if the number of pupils falls below twelve for 
three consecutive years.* Since about five years ago, in order 

^ Decrct, Jan. 21, 1893, Arts. 30-31, Gr. VI, p. 472. " Ibid. 

3 In Paris, these sdhools all have a four-year course, and in the girls' 
school at Lille one even finds this extended to five years. 
*Loi, July 19, 1889, Art. 5, Gr. VI, p. 164. 



THE UPPER SCHOOLS 1 23 

to receive State aid in founding- such a schoo'l, tlie commune has 
had to bind itself to support it for at least thirty years. ^ Pre- 
vious to 1893, all State aid of tliis nature was given in the 
form of annuities running over a long period of years. Then 
the commune had to support the school at least as long as the 
annuities continued. Since that time, instead oi a series of 
installments, the amount has been given in a lump sum. That, 
then, is the basis of this thirty year period, for since the State 
has so many demands for this assistance, it must receive some 
guarantee that the money will be profitably used and that it 
will be of more than temporary benefit. 

The requirements for admission tO' the cours complemen- 
taircs and the ecolcs primaircs siiperieures are exactly the same : 
namely, the possession of the primary certi- 
ficate and at least one year in the cours siipe- 
rieur of the elementary primary school. On account of the 
great number of these lower schools, however, that have no 
upper division, it has been rather difficult to insist on this 
second condition. Nevertheless, the authorities are very much 
in earnest in the matter and the>^ will not rest until these re- 
quirements are fully satisfied. 

There is no regular curriculum' outlined for the cours com- 

plementaires. Each year the director and the teacher of the 

cours superieur of the lower school draw up ^ . , 

' . . Curriculum 

their own program, and it is only necessary to 

have it approved by the superior authorities." Here is one of 
the few places in all the French educational system where any 
great amount of real freedom is left to the teachers. The re- 
sult genera'lly is that the work is much better adapted to the 
abilities of the pirpils and the needs of the communities, for 
the teachers endeavor to supplement the work 'of the elemen- 
tary school and in order to do this they may select almost at will 
from the programs of the lower or the upper schools what 
they find O'f use there. Of course it is quite out of the question 
to pursue all the various subjects \oi the ecolc primaire supe- 

^ Decret, Mar. 28, 1899, Art. i, Gr. VI, p. 880. 
2 Arrete, Jan. 25, 1895, Art. 2, Gr. VI, p. 599- 



124 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



rieure, for the cours complementaire has only one teacher and 
continues but a single year, but the pupils can at least be given 
a taste for a certain amount of culture that is entirely outside 
the province o-f the curriculumi O'f the lower schools. Finally, 
at the end of their course, they may submit to an examination 
on the work of the year, and if successful have a special men- 
tion to that effect inscribed in their elementary^ certificates. 

The number of these classes has increased quite rapidly 
during the last decade. The four hundred and eighty-two re- 
ported in 1892, ten years later had increased to 
Number of ^^^^^^ hundred and twenty-four, of which 
Cours Com pie- • 1 * , 

menfaires seven hundred and twO' were private. At best, 

however, the coitrs complementaire is only a 
make-shift, installed in a community where the population or 
the prosperity will not warrant an ecole primaire superieure. 
Of late years, in order to encourage the more useful fonn of 
the upper schools, the authorities have given all the scholar- 
ships available for this degree of education to the pupils of the 
ecoles primuires superieures instead of dividing them as here- 
tofore between these schools and the cours complementaires.^ 
The ecoles primaires superieures together with the ecoles 
manuelles d'apprentissage and the ecoles professionnelles form 
a much more important though less numerous 
er pper g-roup of these upper schools. The ecoles 
i manuelles d'apprentissage are simply a modi- 

fied form of ecoles primaires superieures. As these upper 
schools were left somewhat free in their choice oi programs, it 
naturally followed that the schools founded in the great in- 
dustrial and commercial centers tended more and more to be- 
come real technical schools. Under these conditions, the 
Ministry of Education was obviously reaching 
Schools over into the field properly belonging to the 
•Pj Ministry of Commerce, although there was 

still no small amount of purely intellectual sub- 
ject matter left in the programs. In the first place, a com- 

1 Statistiquc, VI, 1896-1897, p. xlii ; VII, 1901-1902, p. xxxix. 

2 Circ. Sept. 7, 1895, Gr. VI, p. 664. 



THE UPPER SCHOOLS 1 25 

promise was effected, and those schools that had primarily this 
industrial or commercial aspect were put under the condo- 
tmniwn of both ministers. That is, subventions to- these schools 
were inscribed in the budgets of the two ministers/ and both 
sent their inspectors tO' the schoo'ls. 

This arrangement continued with more or less success for 
several years, until in 1897, there were nO' less than twenty- 
nine schoO'ls that were co-ntro'lled in this fashion. Although 
the two departments worked in perfect harmony, the incon- 
gruity O'f the situation became more and more apparent, until 
it was finally decided that these schools should either reas- 
sume their purely intellectual training with a modicum O'f 
manual work and so fall back under the Ministry of Public 
Instruction, or else they should become out and out technical 
sChoo'ls with the intellectual work entirely subordinate and thus 
come under the control of the Ministry oi Commerce and In- 
dustry.- This change could not be made all at once, but in 
1902 there were only twelve schoo'ls under the condominium 
of the two ministers^ and the probability is that this dual con- 
trol will soon cease to exist altogether. Un- 
der the new arrangement, these transferred Schools Trans- 
schools took the name ccoles pratiques de com- Minister of 
merce ou d'industrie and they are controlled Commerce 
by the department of commerce and industry in 
exactly the same way as are the ordinary schools by the de- 
partment O'f education. At first, twelve schools were thus 
transferred, since then others have been treated likewise and 
still other new ones created, so that ou December 31, 1899, 
there were in all thirty-three ecoles pratiques. In order to 
facilitate the classification o'f these schools, a commission was 
appointed consisting oi the Vice-Rector of the Academy <yi 
Paris and eight other members, four being designated by the 
Minister of Education and four by the Minister of Commerce.* 

1 Loi, Dec. II, 1880, Gr. V, pp. 207-208. 

~ Loi de Finances. Jan. 26, 1892, Art. 69, Gr. VI, p. 407. 

8 Statistique, VII, 1901-1902, p. xxxix. 

* Decret, Jan. 25, 1895, Gr. VI, p. 598. 



126 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

This transformation lias not been entirely effected as yet, so to- 
day these schools formi three categories : ( i ) those under the 
education department; (2) those under the department of com- 
merce; and (3) those under the condominium oi both ministers. 
In the first of these three groups, intellectual development 
is the chief object, and the technical work is added solely as a 

means of pro\dding a certain training for hand 

Differentiation , u^-'^i -i £ ^ \^- i.j 

, ^ and eye, but with no idea of teaching any trade. 

It is not a " professional school except in the 
general sense of being praictical and utilitarian. It is a school 
and not a workshop; one finds there pupils, not apprentices." ^ 
It not only gives the pupils a good general preparation for 
their life work, but it also provides those that cannot afford 
the expenses of the secondary schools with a means of enter- 
ing the higher technical and scientific schools, and so oi be- 
coming the veritable leaders of the industrial and commercial 
world. The ecoles pratiques dc commerce et d'industrie, on 
the other hand, are strictly professional schools. They occupy 
themselves primarily with this or that aspect O'f commerce or 
industi-y and devote a few hours per week to French, geog- 
raphy, history, mathematics, and the sciences, solely with the 
idea O'f providing a more substantial apperceptive basis for 
their real work. Here, then, the intellectual subject matter is 
entirely subordinate,^ and they aim to prepare their pupils 
for the various trades. Tliese are not mere apprentice schools 
to teach ordinar}- workmen a trade, but inasmuch as their 
pupils are a picked set and of more than ordinaiy intelligence 
and capacity, they try to combine with mere technical skill a 
certain training of the creative powers that will enable their 
students to becoine intelligent foremen or overseers; in fine, 
to develop a real love for 'manual work and not to turn out a 
class O'f individuals dissatisfied with their positions in society 
and only waiting for vacancies in the already overcrowded 
clerkships and minor government positions that are thought to 
carry with them certain prestige. The pupils of these schools 

1 Circ, Feb. 15, 1893. Gr. VI, p. 485. 

- For the programs of these schools, see infra pp. 135-136. 



THE UPPER SCHOOLS 127 

are composed chiefly of the brighter boys and girls O'f the 
upper working or small tradesmen class that cannot afford to 
stay at school much beyond their fifteenth year. The last of 
these groups of schools forms a sort of hybrid class, and at- 
tempts to make these two aspects of education of more nearly 
equal importance. They are gradually disappearing, however, 
and will soon cease to exist altogether. Then the whole or- 
ganization of these upper schools will be reduced to a logical 
basis. 

The ecolcs profcssiounellcs or rather the ccolcs nationales 
prof essionn dies ^ form still a different group. The outgrowth 
of one of the lessons that France learned from 
her first exposition under the Republic, these National 

great national schools aim to train a mass of ""^ "^'°"^ 
. . bchools 

industrial workers, but still to train them in- 
telligently. In order to do this most effectively, we find not 
single schools but rather groups of schools, for the children 
are received there when they enter school life. Through all 
the grades, professional instruction finds its place, continuing 
" proigressively from the very first years, where it is almost 
nothing, up tO' the very last semester, where it is everything." ^ 
Besides these lower departments, there are special examinations 
for admission to the upper school proper which are conducted 
under similar conditions tO' those for entrance to the ecoles 
primaircs siipcricurcs. There are now four of these great na- 
tional schools, Vierzon, Armentieres, Voiron, and Nantes. 
The first three, although authorized in the early eighties, were 
not opened until several years later, Voiron in 1886 and Vier- 
zon and Armentieres in 1887. Thus it was 1889 before the 
schools had completed their organization. The school at 
Nantes was established in 1899. These all have courses in 
wood work and iron work, while Armentieres in the midst of 
the linen industry at the north devotes special attention to- spin- 

^ During the defcate on the budget of 1900, these schools which had 
heretofore been under the joint control of the Minister of Education and 
the Minister of Commerce were transferred entirely to the latter. 

2 Buisson. quoted in, Organisation ct Situatioft de I'Enseignement Pri- 
niaire, p. 420. 



128 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

ning and weaving, Voiron in the south to weaving and silk 
culture in general, and Vierzon in central France has a 
special workshop for pottery/ 

Except the coii^rs coniplemcntaires, the ecolcs primaires 
supcrieures proper are not only the most numerous, but they 
are also' the most important of all these upper 
Higher schools. They foiTn the natural conclusion to 
c ! J the ordinary primary school course and corre- 
spond in a general way tO' the American high 
schools. Although they are now nearly three quarters of a 
century old, in their present form they are practically a cre- 
ation of the last two decades and a half. The course lasts at 
least two years, and a school is not considered dc pie in exercice 
if this does not continue for three years or more. 

There is no one program prescribed for all schools, but there 
are several courses from which to choose: namely, general, 
commercial, industrial, and agricultural. Thus 
the school is able to adapt its work to the real 
needs of the community, but it must state clearly at the outset 
what courses it intends to give and then must confine itself 
strictly to the r^ulations prescribed for these. One does not 
find all four in any one school, but the general course may be 
combined with any of the others, as, for example, in the large 
city schoo'ls, the general, commercial, and industrial are usually 
found together. In fact, for the first year the prescribed 
studies are exactly the same for all groups, and it is not until 
the second year that any differentiation is allowed. Even 
here certain subjects are common to all, but the names O'f the 
various sections indicate sufficiently clearly the general trend 
of each. 

These schools are in no sense obligatO'ry but always repre- 
sent the expression of a certain amount of public sentiment and 
educational interest. The initiative is taken 
Establishment i ^^^ municipal council, but the conseil de- 
and Support -^ , • n i • i i .1 

partemental practically decides whether or not 

1 Martel and Ferrand, £coles Primaires Superieures, £coles d'Appren- 
tissage ct £coles Nationales Professionnelles. Monographies Pedagogiques, 
No. 9. 



THE UPPER SCHOOLS 



129 



the school shall be opened. .Then it only remains to gain the 
support O'f the Minister, and this is almost sure tO' follow, for 
the authorities are only too glad tO' encourage these schools to 
the utmost of their financial ability. This government as- 
sistance is given in the form of scholarships, grants o-f appa- 
ratus and other material for instruction, while the teachers' 
salaries are regularly paid by the State just as in the lower 
schools. The support will cease, however, if the number of 
pupils falls below fifteen for each year of work in the school 
for three consecutive years. ^ The amotmt of extra money 
that the communities may spend is dependent entirely upon 
themselves. In fact in Paris, one may truthfully say that these 
schools have about all that the directors choose to ask for. 
The city furnishes the books and school supplies, and the use- 
fulness of the schools is limited only by the utility of the 
methods, the capacity of the pupils and the ability of the 
teachers. 

The teaching force in the ecoles primaircs superieures falls 
into twO' general groups : those appointed by the Minister, and 
those appointed by the prefect under the same 
conditions as in the elementary schools. The 
first of these form by far the larger of the two' groups, fix the 
standard for the schools and mark their superiority over the 
lower. They include the director, professors that hold the 
certificate for teaching in the normal schools, as well as many 
teachers from the ranks of secondary education that find the 
work in these large city schools much more attractive socially 
and financially than that in the country lycees or colleges. The 
nominees of the prefect are simply instituteurs adjoints, who 
must hold the brevet superietir and the certiftcat d' aptitude 
pedcgogique, and the workshop assistants who are always 
practical workmen. The expenses of this latter class are 
reckoned as a part of the general installation of the school 
and are invariably borne by the community. It is needless 
to say that the titulaires are appointed only when^ the Minister 
cannot fill the vacancies with his own appointees. These pro- 
1 Loi, July 19, 1889, Art. 5, Gr. VI, p. 164. 



lOQ PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

fcsseurs are not always attached to any one school, but distrib- 
ute their time among several. This is especially true of the 
teachers of singing, agriculture, commercial branches, and mod- 
em languages. The result is that the number of teachers at 
first sight seems entirely out O'f proportion tO' the number of 
pupils. In one school in Paris, for example, there are fifty 
teachers for about five hundred boys. It certainly gives a 
kind of variety to the character of the instruction, but on the 
other hand the teachers never really become acquainted with 
their pupils. 

In spite of the fact that according tO' the official regula- 
tions, in the smaller schools the directors are required tO' spend 
from ten to fifteen hours per v^^eek in actual teaching — save in 
those where there are more than one hundred and fifty pupils, in 
which case they may be relieved of all except the work in moral 
and civic instruction ^ — I did not find a single school among 
those I visited in Paris or in the department of the North where 
a director or directress gave any regular instruction. In fact 
this would be quite out of the question in such schools where 
the number of pupils varies from three hundred to nearly a 
thousand. The other teach.ers are expected to spend twenty 
hours per week in the class room and to devote five hours to 
the sun^eillance of study, recreation periods or excursions. 

The social class of the pupils in the ecoles primaires su- 
pericurcs varies greatly with the schools. The intellectual re- 
quirements, however, are the same for all : 
namely, the possession of the elementary cer- 
tificate, and at least one year in the cours supcrienr. This 
practically fixes the age for entrance at twelve or thirteen 
years. In some of the larger cities where the supply of can- 
didates is far in excess of the accommodations, there is further 
a special entrance examination, and here one naturally finds 
the general level oi the pupils somewhat higher. In Paris, the 
successful candidates are allowed as far as possible to choose 
among the five ecoles primaires superieures for boys, and the 
two for girls. 

1 Decrct, Avig. 14, 1893. Art. i, Gr. VI, p. 525. 



THE UPPER SCHOOLS 



131 



Although all instruction in these schools is practically free, 
nevertheless one of them, Jean Baptiste Say at Auteuil, is 
really a semi-pay school. This is legalized by having a 
pcnsionnat or boarding department, by supervised periods of 
study, and by various extra subjects of instruction for which 
additional fees are charged. Tlius one finds here a distinctly 
higher social class than in the other similar schools in Paris, yet 
the letter of the law is kept if not the spirit. About one half 
of the nine hundred boys are paying pupils of this nature, who 
come here not only from all over France but even from 
abroad. The other half enter under the same conditions as in 
the other schools O'f the same grade. Of the nine hundred and 
fifty boys that passed the examinations for entrance to the 
ecoles primaires superieures of Paris in 1902, Jean Baptiste 
Say took one hundred and eig^hty. This schood is situated in 
one of the better quarters o-f the city, so the charges constitute 
no real hardship, but merely act as a kind oi social sieve. 
Tliere are a few other schools conducted on a similar plan to 
be found in varions parts of France but they are usually private 
schools that have been absorbed bodily by the Minister of 
Education and made to conform to- the standards of the or- 
dinary schools of their grade. 

Toward the end of the school year, the pupils are con- 
fronted with a series of examinations called the examen de 
passas^e, which cover the work of the year. If 

. ^ . . Examinations 

a pupil fails here, the parent is usually re- 
quested to zvithdrazn' his child, for the State does not believe in 
carrying along any unpromising candidates. Those that are 
so disposed of at the end of the first year will not account for 
the great decrease in numbers of the second year of the course 
as compared with the first, and this although the State has 
put forth every effort to make it possible for the pupils to stay 
at school. In the seven schools of Paris, only thirteen per 
cent of the boys and twenty-three per cent of the girls stay 
more than three years, ^ and at the sdhool Jean Baptiste Say 

1 Morant, The French System of Higher Primary Schools, Eng- 
lish Educational Department. Special Reports on Educational Subjects, 
I, P- 327- 



132 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

where we migfht expect to find these conditions much better, 
the per cent of boys in the fourth year from 1888 to 1895 
varied from twelve to twenty and gave an average oi less than 
seventeen.^ This is really a very serious defect inasmuch as 
in general these courses are all planned on a basis of four 
years. 

One of the most important ways in which the State has at- 
tempted to encourage the founding and development of the 

ecoles primaires superieures has been through a 

Scholarships . , , , . ^^ ^ ^1 

system of scholarships. Ihese are of three 

sorts: d'intcrnat, d'entrcticn, and familialcs. The first are 
given to pay the living expenses at the boarding schools, but 
they can never amount to more than five hundred francs each. 
The second vary from one hundred to four hundred francs and 
are given to children that live at home and attend an ecole 
primairc superieiire in the vicinity. These fulfil a double pur- 
pose and serve not only to pay the living expenses of the boys 
or girls but also to compensate the families in some measure for 
the loss of any possible income ou the part of the children. 
The bourses familialcs, with a uniform value of five hundred 
francs, — although these as well as the others may be assigned 
by halves or three quarters — are given in cases where there 
is no boarding department in connection with the school, and 
the pupils live with private families in the town. 

Each year, the Minister has about a thousand of these 
scholarships at his disposal," and they are invariably awarded 
after a searching competitive examination. All candidates 
must be between twelve and fifteen years of age. The ex- 
amination is partly written and partly oral, and is very similar 
to that for the brevet elhncntairc, witli the addition of an oral 
interrogation on moral and civic instruction. It is based on 
the work of the cours superieur of the lower school. The in- 

1 Leveque, Rapport au Comite de Patronage dc I'Ecole Jean Baptiste 
Say, 1899, pp. 196-197. 

2 During the ten years 1889-1899, there were 10,437 national scholarships 
conferred, of which 6,356 were given to boys and 4,081 to girls. Organisa- 
tion et Situation de I'Enseignement Primaire, p. 372. 



THE UPPER SCHOOLS 



^33 



tellectual worth and promise of the candidate are of prime im- 
portance, but account is also taken of tlie services that the 
parent may have rendered the State and the financial situation 
and the number of children in the family/ The scholarship 
ordinarily continues through the school course, or during g-ood 
behavior and good work on the part of the beneficiary. Be- 
sides these national bourses, the government makes special 
grants to needy families for clothing, and there are also de- 
partmental or local scholarships. The government appointees 
are usually assigned to schools in their own departments, but 
this rule is not invariable. Sometimes, when these scholar- 
ship holders have made brilliant records in the upper schools 
and have gained the certificate at the end of the course, they 
may be transferred to the secondary schools and have their 
scholarships continued.' This is only possible, however, for 
those under sixteen years of age, and it must not be inferred 
that this forms any regular way for entering secondary schools, 
for the primary and secondary schools are each complete sys- 
tems, and the transition from one to the other is nowhere 
made easy. 

In connection with each ecole primaire superieure, there is 
a comite de patronage whose members are appointed by the 
Minister himself on recommendation of the 
rector.^ This committee has absolutely noth- "^"^^ ^^ 
ing to do wath the educational aspect of the 
school work, but is a kind of godfather to the institution. 
The director or directress of the school and the primary in- 
spector are always active members, and the rector and the 
academy inspector ex o-fficio members of each of these bodies. 
This committee is especially interested in the material wel- 
fare of the pupils, is often of much assistance in finding suit- 
able positions for the graduates, forms a most valuable nucleus 
about which to center public sentiment and general interest in 

1 Decrct, Jan. i8, 1887, Art. 48, Gr. V, p. 73i- 

2 An-cte, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 61, Gr. V, p. 781. 

3 Ibid., Art. 33, Gr. V, p. 775. 



134 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

the school and its success, and its memhers are usually very 
important persons on all gala occasions. 

The programs of the ecolcs primaircs siipericiircs have not 

been formulated with the idea of training pupils for ultimately 

reaching any of the so-called liberal profes- 

Programs . . . , - 

sions or even tor passnig to the secondary 
schools or the universities. They have, however, tried to 
" orient their pupils from the first day to the last with refer- 
ence to the necessities of the practical life which awaits them; 
. . . and although reminding them that democracy has re- 
moved the barriers which formerly confined the individual 
within narrow limits, the school should strive to make them 
love and honor their career rather than make them long for 
the means of escaping it." ^ 

Althoiigh the distinction has already been drawn between 
the Scales priinaircs superieures proper and the ecolcs pratiques 
de commerce et d'indusfrie, it may be instructive to put the 
programs of these two schools together for purposes of 
comparison. 

1 Dupuy, Circ. Ff>b. 15, 1893, Gr. VI, p. 485. 



THE UPPER SCHOOLS 



135 



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136 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



Comparison of the Time-Tables of the Girls' Higher Primary 

Schools and the £coles Pratiques de Commerce et 

d'Industrie.' 



(Number of hours per week) 








Ministry of 
Public 


Ministry of Commerce. 




Instruction. 












j^coles 

Priniaires 

Supirieures} 




Ecoles Pratiques. 






General 
Course.'' 


Industrial. 


Commercial. 


Year . . 


I. H. HI. 


I. 


II. III. 


I. II. 


III. 


Morale 

French language . . . 
Writing • • . 
History and civic in- 


I I I 
4 4 4 
I I 


3 

I 


I I 

3 i>^ 


lA 

aA 3 
3 ^A 


lA 

\a 


struction 

Geography 

Modern languages • . 

Arithmetic, geometry or 
algebra . 

Book-keeping and ac- 
counts . . 

Natural and physical sci- 
ences, hygiene 

Common law, political or 
commercial economy . 

Drawing . . . 

Manual work and domes- 


I I I 
I I I 
3 3 3 

211 

I I 

222 

I 
3 3 3 


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lA 

^% 

6 


^A 

3 1% 

3 4X 
3 3 


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^A ^A 


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3 

aA^ 
lA 


tic economy 

Gymnastics 

Singing 


4 4 4 
I I I 
I I I 


2y 


2^A 31/2 


3 3 


3 




24 24 24 


43 


AA'A 44/^ 


2^A 3^ A 36 



The schedules for the girls' schools were almost exactly the 
same as those for the boys, according to the 
Program arrcte of January, 1893, but before they had 
S h 1 gone into effect they were modified in the fol- 

lowing August as above. The most striking 



* Organitatton et Situation de I ' Enseisnement Primaire, p. 383. 

• For the professional sections of the icoles primaires supirteures a special program it 
drawn up for each school. This is formulated by the directress, but must be approved by 
the academy inspector. 



THE UPPER SCHOOLS 



137 



difference here is in mathematics, which in the girls' schools 
loses two hours per week throughout the course. In the applica- 
tion of the programs, however, the differences are even greater, 
but they are chiefly due to the difference in sex of the pupils. 
Thus in the girls' schools we find that the theoretical work in 
agriculture is entirely omitted; the manual training takes the 
form of sewing, dressmaking and domestic economy; hygiene, 
the principles of common law and political economy are treated 
entirely under the influence oif the part tha;t woman naturally 
plays in the life oi the world. Suflice it tO' say that the con- 
stant aim in all these schools has been to give the pupil the 
sort O'f instruction that will be useful in after life. 

In attempting to arrange courses of study that will benefit 
great classes of people, and in endeavoring tO' include every- 
thing that may possibly be of use, the school work has been 
fearfully crowded and the minds of the pupils cumbered with 
a mass oi facts that are too numerous to be assimilated prop- 
erly. It is only fair to state that these official programs rep- 
resent the maximum amount of work in the various subjects 
and are by no means to be followed in their entirety; in fact, 
that would be utterly impossible. No- detailed discussion of the 
work of the higher primary schools will be attempted at this 
time, for most oi the criticism of the general work and the 
methods in vogue in the normal schools will be equally ap- 
plicable here. Before leaving this subject, however, I cannot 
refrain from calling attention to the general excellence of the 
work in drawing and of the valuable results in correlation 
where the professor of drawing works in connection with the 
teacher of manual training. Tliis was especially noticeable 
in the school at Lille where the girls designed patterns for laces 
and embroidery which they afterwards worked out in the sew- 
ing class. At the boys' school in the same city, I found one of 
the very few installations of power for the manual work that 
I saw in France in either ecoles primaires superieures or Scales 
normales. I can hardly speak in too high terms of the general 
excellence O'f the schools in that city. 

At the end oi the course, the pupils of the ecoles primaires 



138 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



superiiurcs come up for their certificates/ The examination 
for this covers the work o'f the who'le course 
and is divided into three parts : written, oral, 
and practical, lasting eight, one, and four hours respectively. 
Although one would naturally expect any final examination 
to 'be within reach of a large majority of the candidates with- 
out any special preparation, such does not always seem to have 
been true. Up to 1898, about one half of the four thousand 
candidates that ordinarily presented themselves were success- 
ful. The next year the new regulations became effective, and 
then the per cent of failure increased slightly. 

Since that time there has been a marked improvement. Tlie 
results of the last five years are as follows : " 

Year. Candidates. Passed. 

1900 3.431 2,144 

1901 3,816 2,265 

1902 4,624 2.S47 

1903 4,702 3,148 

1904 6,095 3,561 

The girls have been unifoiinly much more successful than 
the boys, for the last four years having an average O'f seventy 
per cent, while during tlie samej^eriod, less than fifty-six per 
cent of the latter have succeeded. Beginning with the year 
1903, this certificate or that of the ecolcs pratiques d'industrie 
is to be required of all candidates for the ecoles natlonales 
d'arts et metiers, the great national scientific schools that are 
found at Paris and a few oi the large provincial cities. 

The following figures ^ for the years 1889- 1898 inclusive 
will ffive a clearer idea of the antecedents and the destination 
of the pupils of the boys' higher primary 
schools, in other words oif their real position in 
the economic life of the nation : 



5' 
Function 



1 Arrete, Sept. 17, 1898, Gr. VI, pp. 832-836. 

^ Bull. Adm., 1900, p. 1092; 1902, p. 1163; 1904, p. 1004. 

3 Organisation et Situation de I'Enseignement Primaire, p. 410. 



THE UPPER SCHOOLS 1 39 

Agriculture has furnished 10,636 pupils and has received 6,824 

Industry has furnished 18,728 " " " 17,680 

Commerce has furnished 14,033 " " " 12,146 

Technical schools have furnished " have " 5,138 

Primary school teachers have furnished 3,243 " " " 6,204 

Minor ofificials have furnished 10,854 " " " 7,oi8 

Unknown 4, 192 " " " 6,676 



61,686 61,686 

Tlie most striking proportional change here is in the case 
of the teaching profession, for while the parents of thirty-two 
hundred and forty-three boys were primary teachers, nearly 
twice as many O'f the pupils entered this calling. 

" Higgler primary instruction has a character essentially edu- 
cational, but at the same time clearly professional; it is no 
exaggeration to say that it is both theoretical 
and practical; it does not mark the end o^f any 
particular apprenticeship, but it prepares seriously for many. 
The chief care of the teachers is tO' make each pupil an intelli- 
gent workman and an honest man who shall become a good 
citiren." ^ 

^ Organisation et Situation de I'Enseigncment Primaire, p. 414. 



CHAPTER VIII 

The Normal Schools (i) 

development 

Although the idea of creating a normal school in France 
is often attributed to the Convention, one must seek farther 

back for the first traces of this great movement. 
R 'ol ti '^^^^ need for some such institutions had long 

been apparent, but it was not until the time of 

the Convention that we find in actual existence anything that 

we may fairly call the prototype of the modern normal school. 

As early as 1681, the Abbe de la Salle, appreciating the need 

of some special work for his teachers, founded an establishment 

for this purpose at Reims. ^ Just how much 

work La Salle did with and for his teachers we 
do not knoiw. At all events, he brought them tO' live with 
him, " entered more than ever intO' all the detail of their life 
and attempted to correct what he found there amiss." This 
undertaking continued at least from Easter until the last of 
June of that same year. Encouraged by the success of this 
venture, he opened a kind of seminary for teachers a few years 
later at Paris.- Here the young teachers were taught " the 
method of Christian teaching " and afterwards took turns in 
conducting the classes " in order to^ accustom themselves to- the 
practical work." Their own course of study seems tO' have 
included merely reading, writing, arithmetic, and singing. 
Little more is known of the organization or the w^ork of this 
school or the length of its existence. At all events, the suc- 
cessors of the worthy Abbe abandoned the undertaking. Al- 

1 Garreau, Vie de Jean Baptiste de la Salle, I, pp. 82, 156. 

2 Ibid., II, p. 15. 

140 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 



141 



though this antedates Francke's institution at Halle by more 
than a decade, yet La Salle lacked much of the real pedagogical 
idea that dominated his German contemporary. 

Whatever sporadic attempts may have been made in the 
meantime, we find the question again coming to a head after 
the expulsion of the Jesuits from France. They 'had been 
the teachers of the secondary schools, and some steps had to 
be taken tO' fill their places. The Parliament started an in- 
quiry on the '' Condition of Instruction in France." ^ One of 
the most striking results of this investigation was the con- 
clusion that at that moment, there was a body of teachers in 
the country capable of filling the places of the Jesuits. 

As a result of the plan of education determined upon by 

Parliament in September, 1762, some pamphlets appeared on 

the necessity of establishing at Paris an insti- ^ , , 

, . ^ ^ , , „, Atbe Pelletier 

tution tor the preparation of teachers." ihe 

author saw quite clearly the difference between the scholar and 
the teacher. " I do not think," he says, " there is any public 
school where one may learn that art (that is, of teaching) so 
necessary to teachers of the youth. We need, then, an insti- 
tution where this shall be taught." ^ In the introduction to 
his second pamphlet, he puts the matter a little more forcibly 
and says, " It would not be so bad for the nation to lack 
teachers for a time as to have only bad ones." * A little later 
Ro'lland reiterated the statement O'f the need for an institution 
where those that wished to teach might go through a kind of 
apprenticeship under the direction of the most skilful teachers 
of the university. This, however, was directed rather toward 
the preparation of teachers for the secondary schools. At all 
events, neither the efforts of Abbe Pelletier nor those of Rol- 
land had any very important results. 

1 Jacoulet, "Ecoles Noruialcs" p. 378. 

2 L'Abbe Pelletier, Memoir e sur la Necessite d'etablir dans Paris une 
Maison dTnstitution pour former des Maitres, et quelques colleges pour les 
basses Classes, 25 Octobre, 1762. 

3 Ibid., p. 17. 

4 Thery, Historie de I'Education en France depiiis le V^ Siccle jusqu' 
a nos jours, II, p. 178. 



142 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



By that time in Germany, this movement had made no^ Httle 

headway. Francke had hved and died, and his institution at 

Halle was then in full vigor; Frederick the 

Germany , , , , . . . 

Great had lent his assistance to the movement; 
Berlin had started its seminary in 1 748 ; Von Rochow had put 
new life into the idea. France, on the other hand, was still 
slumbering. It remained for that tremendous social and polit- 
i'cal convulsion O'f 1789 to recreate the no'rmal school idea in 
France. Among the legacies, good and bad, that the Revolu- 
tion has left to the people of France, not the least valuable of 
tjhem ail must be reckoned this most important idea. 

It seems most remarkable that during the stonny times of 

the Convention there should have been any consideration given 

to educational affairs, but really they caused 

„ " ^'' . ^ not a- little concern. In the summer of 1794, 

Convention . ^ ' ^ 

Barere, in the name o'f the Coniitc dc Saint 
Public, complained bitterly of the blig'hting effect of the con- 
tinuance of the Revolution on public education.^ Although at 
the time he proposed that a school should be founded in Paris 

for training teachers to be scattered all over 
^°''"' Parfs°°^ France, the question does not seem to have 

been discussed. The whole matter slumbered 
apparently until autumn. On the 9 Bnnnaire, An III. (Oct. 
30, 1794), however, in consequence of the report O'f Lakanal, 
seven days before, the Convention decreed that there should 
be created in "Paris an "£cole Normalc where citizens oi the 
Republic already instructed in the useful sciences should be 
taught to teach." - The wish of the Convention that the pro- 
fessors in this school should be the most skilful is fully attested 
by some of the names : Lagrange and Laplace conjointly in 
mathematics, Berthollet in chemistry, and Bernardin de Saint- 
Pierre in morale.^ 

The idea of the Convention was as broad and comprehensive 
as were so many others that proceeded from that famous body. 

1 Allain, L'Oeuvre Scolaire de la Revolution, p. 158. 
^ Decret, 9 Brumaire An III, Art. i, Gr. I, p. 98. 
3 Gr. I, p. 106. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 1 4-, 

The influence of tliis school was not to be merely local, but it 
was expected to reach out intO' the most remote corners O'f the 
new Republic and affect the life O'f the humblest of its citizens. 
For that reason its pupils were to he called by districts from 
all over France on the basis of one for every twenty thousand 
inhabitants, and every^ pupil must be at least twenty-o-ne years 
of a'ge/ The object of this institution was to train its stu- 
dents in the method of teaching. At the end of the four 
months' course, they were to return to their respective districts 
and open other normal schools, where they should transmit to 
other citizens who wished to- become teachers " the method 
of teaching which they had learned in the normal school at 
Paris." ^ These new courses, in turn, were tO' continue for 
four months. The Committee of Public Instruction of the 
Convention was to have general oversight of all these schools," 
the plan of work and the method of instruction, and was re- 
quired to report tO' the Convention every ten days on tlieir 
condition. 

A detailed plan o'f the vvork in the school at Paris is con- 
tained in the regulation of the Convention O'f January 14, 
1795.* The daily sessions of the school con- 
tinued from eleven o'clock in the morning 
until quarter past one in the afternoon. The program, which 
included mathematics, physics, descriptive geometry, natural 
history, chemistry, agriculture, geography, history, morale, 
grammar, metaphysics and literature, was so 'arranged that 
each subject had two periods every ten days, thus giving three 
lectures per day. On the "quintidis," the professors were to 
conduct discussions before the pupils and distinguished men of 
letters on the elementary text-books in use in the schools 
oif the Republic, and on the "decadis " the ordinary school 

1 Decret, supra, Art. 2. 

- Ibid., Art. 11. 

8 This follows the nomenclature of the revised calendar. The month 
was divided into three periods of ten days each. The days of each of these 
periods were named, respectively, primidi, duodi, tridi, quartidi, quintidi, 
sextidi, septidi, octidi, nonidi, decadi. 

* Gr. I, pp. 106-107. 



144 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



work was interrupted in order that the students might have 
opportunities for visiting the Hbraries and museums O'f the city. 
The meetings of the courses were tO' be devoted alternately to 
lectures by the professors in developing the principles of the art 
of teaching, and to conferences and discussions on these lec- 
tures. 

This school was opened on January 20, 1795, in the great 
amphitheatre of the museum. Fourteen hundred pupils from 
all over France thronged to its courses.^ The pro'fessional 
attainments of the body of instructors are far beyond question, 
but their ability as teachers of teachers is not sO' evident. The 
immediate effect of this venture was not very encouraging. 
The Convention soon realized that the school was not progress- 
ing according to the ideas of its founders, and it was closed 
by decree on May 15th, after an existence a little short O'f what 
was originally planned. It is perfectly clear that four months 
is far too short a time for training ordinai-y teachers, much 
less for training teachers of teachers. Moreover, it seems 
quite evident that these professors, able as they were, could 
not appreciate the idea that they were to teach the best method 
of teaching their subjects rather than to teach the subjects 
themselves. Nevertheless, the pupils, realizing the inadequacy 
of the length of the course, and convinced of the advantages 
to be derived from such an experiment, plead most earnestly 
before the Convention that the work oif the school might be 
continued. This address,' signed by forty-nine of the students 
of the schoo'l, was presented to the Convention and read there 
April 25, 1795, but the appeal fell upon deaf ears. The whole 
effort was rather unfortunate, for it was not only unsuccess- 
ful in itself, but the recollection of its failure discouraged any 
further attempt in this direction for several years. ^ It is al- 

^ Addresse de phicicurs clcves de l'£.colc Normale, a la Convention, lue 
dans la seance du 5 Florcal, An 3 (Apr. 25, 1795), P- 3- 

" Cf. supra. 

3 This normal school really cost the Republic no small sum. " There 
were twelve proiessors at 1,000 1. per month, four stenographers at 500 1., 
six copyists at 333 1. 6 sols. 8 deniers, two employes for distributing the 
papers of the school at 250 1. and 200 1. respectively, one office attendant at 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 



145 



most unnecessary to add that the failure of the undertaking 
in Par'is bHghted whatever prospects the proposed rural normal 
schools ever had of succeeding. 

Nearly thirteen years later Napoleon created the University. 
In order that reading, writing and arithmetic might be taught 

in the best manner possible, each Academy was 

, , 1 1- 1 i< 11 , Napoleon and 

to establish one or more normal classes to ,, tt • 

the University- 
train teachers for the primary schools." ^ It 

is interesting to note that four years after this, the academy 
inspectors were specifically required to- see that the teachers in 
the primary schools did not carry their instruction beyond the 
limits of reading, zvriting and arithmetic.^ The contrast be- 
tween this simple program and that outlined in the nonnal 
school of the Convention is most striking. Unlike the Con- 
vention, however, Napoleon took no' further steps to- carry his 
decree into effect. During- the Hundred Days we find another 
normal schoo'l — on paper at least. A model school was to be 
provided at Paris which should eventually become a normal 
school and should train teachers for service in the primary 
schools.^ A committee was formed to plan the course, but 
" Waterloo swept away the decree and the Minister " who 
proposed it.'* 

The decree O'f 1808 was not without its effect, for in the 
extreme eastern part of the empire the suggestion seemed to 

be well received. At all events, thanks to^ the 

r r 1 1 11 r 1 Stfassburg 

prefect of the department and the rector of the 

academy, who were perhaps as much influenced by the progress 

that Germany had already made in the training of her teachers 

150 1. This amounts to considerably more than 16,000 1. per month. One 
must add to this 1,680,000 1. indemnity — 1200 1. to each of the 1400 pupils — 
their teaching expenses, and 30,000 I. for text-books." Allain, L'Oeuvre 
Scolaire de la Revolution, p. 191, note. Aside from the traveling expenses, 
this is equal to more than $350,000, truly no inconsiderable sum to spend 
for such a short-lived experiment. 

^ Decret, Mar. 17, 1808, Art. 108, Gr. I, p. 199. 

^ Decret, Nov. 15, 1811, Art. 192, Gr. I, p. 222. 

^ Decret, Apr. 27, 1815, Gr. I, p. 237. 

* Jacoulet, Les £coles Normales; in Recueil des Monographies Peda- 
gogiques. Exposition 1889, 11, p. 386. 



146 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

as by the imperial decree, the first normal school in France 
was opened at Strassburg in 1811/ 

This started at first with sixty scholarship pupils, varying in 
age from six'teen to thirty years, and many others besides. 
The expenses of these scholarships were divided among the 
" communes of the department in proportion to their popula- 
tion, their income, and the number and importance of their 
schools." " The course, four years at the beginning, but sub- 
sequently reduced to three, included instruction in French, Ger- 
man, geography, arithmetic, physics, calligraphy, drawing, 
music, some notions of agriculture and gymnastics, and finally, 
some study O'f the best methods of teaching. Tliough this 
program is incomparably richer than that proposed by Napo- 
leon's decree, it is yet much below the plan of the normal 
school of the Convention. Although undoubtedly far more 
practical in its actual work, it nevertheless lacked much of the 
breadth of its famous predecessor. The omission of history 
is perhaps its most striking feature. This school at Strass- 
burg met with immediate success, so much, in fact, that its 
influence rapidly extended outside its own department. The 
department of the Upper Rhine soon made arrangements to 
send pupils to be trained at Strassburg. M. Guizot thus testi- 
fies to the success of the Strassburg school : " The superiority 
of the public school in the academy of Strassburg is striking. 
and the conviction of the country, as just as it is general, 
attributes this above all to the existence of the normal school." ^ 

The return of the monarchy, however, put a check on the 
spread of this idea by turning the efforts along this line in 

another direction. It encouraged the union 
Other Schools r 1 1 1 11 

or several classes under one teacher and sev- 
eral assistants, with the idea of " training a certain number of 
young people in the art of teaching." * This is the same plan 
that was adopted again in 1850, at that time with the idea not 

1 Guizot. Rapport au Roi. Mar. 2. 1833, Gr. I. p. 435. 

- Allard, £coles Normales Primaires, p. 3. 

" Op. cit., Gr. I, p. 436. 

* Ordonnance Royalc, Feb. 29. 1816, Art. 39, Gr. I. p. 248. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS i^y 

only of preventing the foundation of new schools, but even of 
killing those already in existence. Fortunately, at this junc- 
ture some of the academies took up the burden that the State 
had cast aside, and again one can trace the influence of the 
school at Strassburg. The academies o'f Metz and Nancy 
established normal schools for primary teachers at Helfedange 
and Bar-le-Duc respectively. The first of these, founded in 
1822, was subsequently removed tO' the academy seat at Metz. 
The course of each of these schools lasted two years, and at 
Helfedange, besides the work given at Strassburg, we find 
geometry, mechanical drawing, the elements 
of mechanics and astronomy, some notions of ,' ^^^"^^^^ J" 

. ... the Curricula 

natural history, hygiene, and practice in draw- 
ing up simple legal papers,^ but still no histoiy. Bar-le-Duc 
added history (with especial emphasis put upon that of 
France) and surveying, but it lost physics, natural history, 
hygiene, gymnastics, and the preparation of legal papers. On 
the who'le, it is evident that the i'ntroductioii O'f history was 
rather dearly bought. The presence of these schools, M. Gui- 
zot goes on to say, 'had a most remarkable influence on the 
prevalence O'f schools in the departments of the Moselle and 
the Meuse, for in the latter department there were only four 
small communes that had no schools. There was a great ad- 
vance, toO', in the methods of instruction, and the individual 
method almost completely disappeared. The foundation of 
these three schools, at Strassburg, Helfedange, and Bar-le-Duc, 
may be said to mark the first period in the history of the nor- 
mal schools in France. About this time attempts were made 
at Paris, under private enterprise, tO' provide some professional 
training for teachers of both sexes, but the results were not of 
sufficient or lasting importance to merit consideration here. 

The creation of the office of Minister of Public Instruc- 
tion in 1828 " put renewed life into the schools of the nation. 
A few months later a royal ordinance ^ restored to the Univer- 

1 Guizot, Op. cit., Gr. I, p. 436. 

2 Ord., Feb. loth, Gr. I, p. 340. 

5 Ord., Apr. 21, 1829, Gr. I. pp. 340-345. 



148 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

sity its authority over the public schools which it had lost some 
years before. In an official circular/ the new 
Extension Minister recommended to the rectors of the 
Normal Schools ^'^"^^^ academies that they use all their 
efforts to found normal classes patterned after 
the one that had been so successful at Strassburg. This cir- 
cular was followed by another the next August," wherein the 
Minister gave the rectors many valuable suggestions on the 
administration and internal arrangements of these normal 
classes, and the aim and duration of the w"ork to be under- 
taken. Here for the first time since the Convention, we find 
the State taking a real live interest in this work and doing 
something more than merely publishing decrees. These efforts 
were crowned with no little success. The lower authorities 
seemed to awake from their lethargy and really tO' bestir them- 
selves toward better things. Although checked by the polit- 
ical events O'f 1829- 1830, yet there is no doubt but that these 
aJttempts prepared the people in a way for the far greater work 
o'f Guizot. Be that as it may, by 1829 the number of normal 
schools had grown from three to thirteen, and by the time of 
Guizot's report in 1833, on the condition of the normal schools, 
this number had still further increased to forty-seven. Then, 
however, the movement was no longer confined to the eastern 
departments, but had extended from one end of the country to 
the other. 

At this period when the whole scheme oif primary instruc- 
tion was entirely reorganized, and an impetus hitherto un- 
known was given tO' popular education, at the 
Condition of i\n-\Q, when the higher primary schools sprang 
g inlto existence, and Guizot had inspired the 

authorities, from the king down, with a lively 
interest in the schools, let us see what the noiTnal schools 
really were. With an existence oif a little more than two 
decades, they had already begun to have an important influ- 
ence on the personnel of the public schocvls. One must not 

1 Circ, May 6, 1828, Gr. I. pp. 345-349- 

2 Circ. Aug. 19, 1828, Gr. I, pp. 357-359- 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 1 49 

forget, however, that this was long before the days of a highly 
centralized educational system in France. There were almost 
as many different grades of work as there were normal schools. 
In fact, some could hardly be called schools at all, for they 
were merely normal cla'sses attached to a college ot, even as 
that at Nimes, to a private boarding school.^ Exactly how 
many pupils were enrolled in the forty-se\'en schools then in 
existence or what their real influence was on elementary edu- 
cation in general, we have no means of knowing. We do 
know that the equipment and installation were entirely de- 
pendent upon the g-enerosity of the department which founded 
the school. Sometimes these were boarding schools, some- 
times day schools, and again at times a combination of the two, 
although the greater number belonged to this last class. The 
value of the bourses, and consequently the living expenses, 
were practically limited to tliree hundred francs. These schol- 
arships were founded by the departmeiits, the communes, by 
private generosity, or, as seldom happened, by grants from 
the State. Generally speaking, the course continued for two 
years, although occasionally this was lengthened to three and 
at other times reduced to one. The plan of the work, too-, was 
about as varied as can readily be imagined. 

Better days, however, were in store for the normal schools. 
Guizot became Minister of Public Instruction in October, 1832, 
and immediately proceeded to bring order out 
of all this chaos. From the first he was in- ^ ""^^ 

Innuence 

tensely interested in the training of teachers, 
and hence we have the new regulation of December 14, 1832,^ 
systematizing the normal schools. So fundamental were the 
changes and so lasting the effects that this regulation has been 
aptly called the " chart of the normal schools." At this period 
they ceased to be exclusively departmental, and have since been 
coming more and more under the direction of the central 
authority. One may be a little surprised at not finding these 
institutions made obligatory in all the departments. This ap- 
parent lack, however, was supplied by the new law of the fol- 

1 Jacoulet, Op. cit., p. 393. - Gr. I. pp. 428-433. 



150 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

lowing June. This says specifically : " Each department will 
be required to support a normal school for primary teachers, 
either by itself or in connection with one or more neighboring 
departments." ^ 

Tlie regulation of 1832, however, did provide very carefully 
for uniformity in curriculum, organization, admission require- 
ments and general management. The subjects 
of 18-^2 ^^ instruction were to include: moral and re- 
ligious insitruction, reading, arithmetic, includ- 
ing the legal system of weights and measures (that is, the 
metric system), French grammar, mechanical drawing, sur- 
veying and other applications of pradtical geometry, the ele- 
ments o'f physics as applied to life, music, gj-^mnastics, geog- 
raphy and history (especially those of France). Besides these, 
during the last six months of the course, there was instruction 
in the preparation of simple legal papers, 'and also in grafting 
and pruning trees. The length of the course was two years." 

One is immediately impressed with the practical nature of 

this course, for it has considerably more points oif contact with 

^ real life than had that oif the Strassburg nor- 

Comparison , , , r 11- ^^ 1 

with the "1^^ sdhool of twenty years before, ihe the- 

Earlier oretical wt)rk in education has been supplanted 

rograms ^^^ ^j^ months spent " in the practice of the 
best methods of instruction" in a primary department attached 
to the normal school. German, which had been in the pro- 
gra-ms O'f the earliest schools, and calligraphy have iDotli dis- 
appeared, and the French has been cut down to merely gram- 
matical questions. Some other subjects that had appeared at 
Helfedange, such as the elements of mechanics and astronomy, 
hygiene and natural history, have alike been swept away. On 
the other hand, geometry is taught for its apiMication to sur- 
veying, and the notions O'f the physical sciences are such as 
are " applicable to practical life;" history and geography deal 
almost exclusively with France; the work in agriculture is 
confined specificailly to grafting and pruning. We do find, 

1 Loi, June 28, 1833, Art. 11, Gr. II, p. 13. 

2 Reglement, Dec. 14, 1832, Arts. 1-3, Gr. I, p. 429. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 



151 



however, two entirely new subjects: reading, and moral and 
religioiis instruction. Tlii'S latter was to be gfiven to the nor- 
mal school pupils, according to their belief, by the ministers of 
the various creeds recognized by the laiw. The new program 
was intended to apply only to the schools to be founded in the 
future, for Guizot realized that the various schools already in 
operation under curricula presumably best adapted to satisfy 
the local needs might better be left unhampered. The sole 
condition he cvacted was that the curriculum should be ap- 
proved by the Royal Council. 

The Minister was practically in control of all these normal 
schools, for he appointed the director, approved the rector's 

choice of the rest of the teaching force, and 

■ J Control 

niamed the members 01 the commission ae sur- 
veillance, wiho were directly responsible for the care O'f the 
school, althoiig'h the prefect and the rector were interested in 
the administration to the extent O'f nominating the director 
and the governing board. The directors and other teachers 
were chosen almost exclusively from the ranks O'f secondary 
teachers, and it was not until 1845 ^ that the directors were 
required to be taken from- the pri'miary service. The commis- 
sion de surveillance nominated the teadhing force, other than 
the director, approved the annual budget, ddtermined the num- 
ber of pupils to be admitted to the school, inspected the school 
regularly and examined the pupils in class, decided upon the 
prorndtionis, 'Conducted the final examiimations oi the course, 
and actually granted the certificates tO' the successful candi- 
dates." 

The requirements for admission were not very severe. The 
pupil must be at least sdx'teen years of age, must present cer- 
tificates of good conduct and good health, and 

,. • I,- ■,• ~ Conditions of 

must pass an exammation m read'mg, writing, . , • ■ 

^ . . Admission 

French grammar, arithmetic, and the chief 

tenets of the particular religious belief that he professed.' 

1 Ord., Nov. 18, Art. 5, Gr. II, p. 530. 

2 Reglement, Dec. 14, 1832, Arts. 17-25, Gr. I, pp. 431-433- 
^ Ibid., Art. 11, Gr. I. p. 430. 



152 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



Moreover, he must contract to serve aJt least ten years in the 
public school service/ The great majority of the pupils en- 
joyed scholarships which paid the board at the school. In 
1837 more than seven-eighths of -the students were thus sup- 
ported.^ 

There was one impO'r<tant provision quite generally taken 
advantage of. Teachers already in active service were en- 
couraged to attend the courses given in the 

^ normal school during the year, and especially 

Courses _ ° ; ^ f 

during the vacation periods in the public 
schools " in order tO' improve the knowledge which they al- 
ready possessed or to learn to apply better methods." ^ Most 
of the departments gladly voted funds for these extension 
courses. Thus the sphere of influence of the normal schools 
was widely extended, and they fulfilled the double pui"po'se of 
providing new teachers and of improving tho^se already in ser- 
vice.* 

The effect of this regulation of 1832 and the law of the 
following June was very widespread. Guizot wished to make 
it obligatory for every department to support a normal school 
of its own. This measure appeared too drastic to the Cham- 

1 Reglement, Dec. 14, 1832, Art. 12, Gr. I, p. 431. 

2 Actually 2,136 out of a total of 2,406, showing a slight proportional in- 
crease over 1833 when the corresponding figures were 1,671 scholarship- 
holders out of 1,944. Statistique, II, p. xcv. 

3 Reglement, Dec. 14, 1832, Art. 16, Gr. I, p. 431. 

4 According to Allard, op. cit., pp. 293, 296 and 308, nearly 7,000 of the 
30,644 teachers actually teaching on Jan. i, 1843 in the communal public 
primary schools were normal school graduates. This represents nearly 
seven-eighths of the teachers that had entered the service during the last 
ten years. Of the 22,.72y that were not normal graduates, 6,527, or about 
twenty-eight per cent, had taken advantage of these vacation courses. 

Unfortunately the official statistics — which, by the way, were compiled in 
1877-1880, covering the period 1829-1877 — do not confirm these statements. 
In regard to the total number of teachers, the figures given here are con- 
siderably below those given in the volume Statistique Comparee de I'En- 
seignement Primaire 1829-1877. Yet these in turn do not agree with those 
in the official Rapport au Roi by the Minister of Public Instruction in 1840. 
However, M. Allard being Secretary to the Minister of Public Instruction 
in 1843, his figures merit some consideration at least. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 1^3 

ber, and this particular article was amended to read : " Every 

department will be required to support a 

normal school, either by itself or in conjunc- Results of the 
, . .,, • 1 u ■ 1 i Legislation of 

tion with one or more neighbormg depart- g j. 

ments." ^ It is really surprising how com- 
paratively few departments availed fliemselves of the second 
option contained in this amendment. From forty-seven in 
1833, the number of schools increased very napidly, until when 
Guizot left the Ministry in 1837 there were no less than sev- 
enty-four in full operation distributed all over France." These 
schooil's were all for boys, and it was not until five years later 
that the first giiris' schools 'were opened in the dq>artments of 
Jura and Orne.^ 

It is only fair to state, however, 'that this lack of girls' 
schools was in some measure compensated for by the estab- 
lishment oif noi'mal courses in connection with 

. . . Normal Courses 

other schools, ihe religions societies stepped 
to the front here, but even under the most favorable conditions 
these could hardly be expected to assiime the burden of train- 
ing women teachers for the whole country. These normal 
courses spread rather rapidly and cannot be disregarded, for 
they \\'ere the real precursors of the normal schools for girls. 
In fact, not a few of tbe first girls' schools were merely tnans- 
formed normal courses. Naturally these were much less efifi- 
cient than regular normal schools, but they were considerably 
better than nothing at all. The first was founded at Alens in 
1833, ^"d by 1877 the courses for boys and girls numbered 
seventy, with two hundred and seventy-eight boys and thirteen 
hundred and eighty-five girls in attendance.* 

1 Loi, June 28, 1833, Art. 11, Gr. II, p. 13. 

2 Statistique, II, 1829-1877, p. 176. In 1840 this number had increased to 
seventy-six. with three ecoles modclcs in addition. Of these sixty-five had 
a three years' course, and fourteen a two years'. The number of students 
was 2,684, and the total expenses to the State, departments, communes an-d 
families amounted to 1,538,203 francs. Villemain, Minister of Public In- 
struction. Rapport ail Roi. 1840. p. 54. 

3 Statistique, II, 1829-1877. p. 178-180. 
* Ibid., p. xcviii. 



154 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

It is rather interesting to note in t'his connection that Paris 

had to wait umtil 1872 before slie had a pubhic normal school 

of her own for primary teachers, either for 
Lack of School , c . , ^r^i ' 7 r ^ r ■, 

at Paris ^'^J^ OT for girls. The ordounaucc of March, 

1 83 1, w'hich had provided foi- the estabhsh- 
ment at Paris oif a school to train teachers for the Academy 
of Paris, was subsequently modified so that the school could 
be located in any town of the academy/ N'ow, inasmuch as 
the neighboring department of Seine-et-Oise had just founded 
a normal school at Versailles, the department of the Seine 
arranged to maintain a certain number o'f scholarships in the 
school at Versailles." Nevertheless, on account of the supe- 
rior attractions O'f the oity. Paris was able to dnaw on the 
country depar<tments for her teachers, and seemed to have little 
difificulty in getting her share O'f the best of them. 

It is perhaps worthy of note that this remarkable and wide- 
spread interest in the founding- of normal schools was really 

_ contemporiary with the first struggles tovvard 

Reaction , { . '^^ ^ ^ 

the same end m our own country. James G. 
Carter had begun tlie agitation in Massachusetts only a little 
wlnile before Guizot came into favor in France, and the effort 
on this side O'f the Atlantic was finally crowned with success 
throiigli the influence of Horace Mann. Tliere were, how- 
ever, troublesome times in store for the movement in France. 
From labouit 1840 the miitterings against the no'rmal schools 
grew more pronounced. They were said tO' be reaching be- 
yond the regular limits of their instruction, to be growing 
more and more superficial in their training, and to be sending 
forth a class of pupils dissatisfied with the positions in society 
that they were expected tO' fill.^ Instead of studying the mat- 
ter carefully with an earnest desire to seek out the causes of 
tfhese charges, whiicb unfortunate'ly were more or less true, and 
to correct the evils, the popular feeling turned against the 
no'rmal schools themselves. The opposition became sO' wide- 

1 Ord., Apr. 15, 1831, Gr. I, p. 391. 

2 Statistique, II, 1829-1877, p. xciv. 
^ Jacoulet, op. cit., p. 406. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS ly 

Spread that even the Academy oif Moral and Political Sciences 
con'sd'dered very seriously the question : " Tlie improvem'ent 
otf the primary .normal schools considered in relation to the 
moral education of the youth." Several essays were submitted 
in oompet'itioin for the prize offered by the Acade'my, among- 
them tliat of M. Barrau, principal oif the college at Chaumont, 
and a man really very devoted to the cause o'f primary edu- 
cation. 

This pamphlet was a severe tirade against the 'work that the 
schools were doing-, agfainst their proigrams, organization, 
direction and pupils. The remedies that Bar- 
rau proposed wxre a thorougih simplification ^^^'^^"^ 
^ ^ b 1 Pamphlet 

from top to bottom, with the idea O'f abohsh- 

ing the luxiiiry both in curriculum and life that prevented the 
schools from playing their proper part in the primary educa- 
tion of the nation. To- this end he proposed: (i) that pupils 
should be chosen from among the poor people of the country 
that they mig'ht beibter understaind and minister to the wants 
of the rural communities; (2) the course O'f study should be 
reduced to a more practical basis with increased emphasis 011 
religious teaching; and (3) .all the work, especially that in 
history, should be concentrated upon developing a stro.nger 
feeling of patriotism. In other .words, the education sho'uld 
be made essentially primary instead of attempting to^ reach up 
into the domains of secondary and university work.^ So 
strong was the feeling against the normal schools that some 
of die departments — Loire-Inferieure and the Vosges — even 
went so far as to close their schoO'ls entirely. This uncertain 
and unsatisfactory state of affairs continued until the time of 
the Second Republic in 1848. Then the opposition took more 
decisive measures, and sho.rtly after that actually pushed 
through some legislation fwiliidi it was confidently hoped 
wo'uld sound the death-knell of the normal schools. This was 
the famous Falloux law of 1850. 

1 Barrau, Dc rEducation dc la Jeuncsse a I' Aide dcs £coles Normales 
Primaires, pp. 132, 159, 166. 

The Academy of Moral and Political Sciences granted the prize of 2,000 
francs to M. Barrau for this work. 



1^6 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

Foirtunately the law was not so severe as the framers first 
intended/ As finally passed, it required every department to 

provide for the recruiting- of its teachingf force 
Falloux Law . , ... , ,. , '=' ^ . .*= 

either in establishments for primary instruc- 
tion designated by the Academic Coundl or in the normal 
school established for that purpose by the department." ^ 
Tlie alternative offered here really gave an indirect means of 
supplanting the normal schools. The same section oi the law 
went even further and proA'ided definitely for suppressing the 
schools altogether either by the conscil general of the depart- 
ment, or by the Minister himself <on the reco-mmendation oi 
the Academfic Council. The last of these three means had 
only a nominal existence, for no Minister dared use this 
power, and only four conseils generaux abolished their normal 
schools.^ 

The curriculum was revised the following year * so as to 
cu'ver almost exactly the same range as that provided for the 

primary- schools in the Falloiix law, thus still 
„ further reducing the simple program of 1832. 

By this new arrangement only seven subjects 
were made obligatory : moral and religious instruction, read- 
ing, writing, the elements of the French language, arithmetic 
and the metric system, religious music, and the practical work 
in the ecole annexe. During the rest of the three years' course 
the following were optional : arithmetic in its practical apph- 
cations ; the elements of history and geography ; some notions 
of physics and natural history as applied to life; elementary 
instruction in agriculture, industry and hygiene; surveying, 
levelling and mechaniical drawing; and gymnastics. 

The practical work in the ecole annexe occurred during the 
last two years of the course, while the other obligatory sub- 
jects continued throughout the three years. There was no 

1 Pro jet de loi sur I' Instruction publique, presente a. I'Assemblee nationale, 
June 18, 1849, Art. 36, Gr. Ill, p. 178. 

2 Loi, Mar. 15, 1850, Art. 35, Gr. III. p. 332. 
•'' Jacoulet, op. cit., p. 414. 

4 Reglement. Mar. 1851, Gr. III. p. 453. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 



157 



opportunity for the optional subjects to begin until the third 
year, for the regtvlar program as officially outlined included 
thirty-five hours' work per week for each of the first two 
years. ^ Minister Fortoul, in his instructions to the rectors 
three years later, speaks of the great improvement in the nor- 
mal schools 's'ince the change in 185 1, and furthermore asks 
fhe rectors not to encourage the normal schools to go beyond 
the obligatO'ry subjects of instruction required by that law. 
" It is more important for the pupils to know well what they 
do knoiw, and above all to knoivv how to impart that knowledge 
to others." " 

The commission de surveillance still retained most of the 
powers granted to it under the old conditions in 1832, the five 

members of this body, however, now being 

^, ' . . ^ Further Modi- 

appointed by the rector. ihe Mmister ap- fications by the 

pointed the director as before, and also fixed Regulation of 
the number of pupils to be admitted to the ^ 

school. Candidates must be between the ages of eighteen and 
twenty-two, but the competitive examination is abolished. 
Each inidividual case is considered by the rector and the pri- 
mary inspectors, and the former finally decides the question 
of admission and awards the schodarships. Besides investigat- 
ing carefully the moral and physical health of the candidates, 
these officials had to satisfy themselves that the candidates 
could " read and write readily, observed the principal rules of 
spelling, could app'ly the four rules (that is, arithmetic), and 
could answer the questions put to tliem on the catechism and 
Bibhcal history." ^ The regime was hardly less than that of 
a lay monastery, for the vacations were limited to two' weeks, 
morning and evening prayers were follo'wed by religious read- 
ing, no leave of absence was allowed except in very unusual 
cases, and the pupils were always accompanied on their walks 
by tlie director or another teacher. Although the discipline of 
the normal schools to-day seems unduly severe according to 

1 Arrete, July 31, 1851, Art. 3, Gr. Ill, p. 481. 
- Instruction, Oct. 31, 1854, Gr. Ill, p. 615. 
^ Circ, Feb. 2, 1855, Gr. Ill, p. 624. 



158 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



our American ideas, such condatio'ns as these only fifty years 
ago gt> far 'toiwiard explaiminig the present state of affairs. 

When Rouland became Minister dn 1856, the normal schools 

fell upon better times. Tlie regulation O'f 1851 had limited 

fhe teaching force, not including the chaplain 

Transition , , . . , 1 i- j 

and the smgmg teacher, to the director and 
two other masters. By the royal decree of August 7, 1861/ 
the rectors co'u'ld join witli 'the commission de surveillance in 
aslcing the Minister for a third master. As though fearful of 
the consequences of this new legislation, Rouland, in the min- 
isterial circular accompanying the decree, suggested that the 
reCtoirs take adv^antage o'f this provision only after consider- 
ing the local conditions." The rectors, however, very gener- 
ally improved the opportunity to increase tlie teaching force, 
and by 1863 a large majority oi the seventy-six normal schools 
had at least three regular teachers besides the director. Natu- 
rally the situation was very materially amelioTated. A few 
years before, the financial condition of the teachers had been 
rendered much more satisfactory. In 1855,^ the directors and 
other masters had for the first time been divided into classes, 
with a maximum and a mimmum wage fixed by law. These 
two bodies were each divided dn'tO' three groups witli m'inimum 
and maximum salaries respectively of 2200-3000 francs for 
the directors and 1000- 1800 francs for the regular teachers. 
Eight years later these figures were all raised two hundred 
francs.* The ministry of Rouland was thus a kind of transi- 
tion stage between a period of undisguised hostility to the 
normal schools and one of intense interest and care for their 
welfare under Duruy. 

The six years that Duruy was Miniister of Public Instruc- 
tion, 1 863- 1 869, were of much importance to 

Duruy, ^j^^ normal schools. From the first he was 

Minister 

their faithful champion. In the early part 

1 Decret, Gr. Ill, p. 781. 

2 Circ, Sept. 25, 1861. V, p. 468. 

3 Decret, Dec. 26, 1855, Art. i, Gr. Ill, p. 670. 
* Decret. Sept. 4. 1863. Art. 2. Gr. IV, p. 13. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS Icq 

of his ministiy, a letter to^ the prefects ^ recommends that 
they take special pain's to reserve the vacancies in the schooils 
within their jurisidlictioai for the yoimg teachers that have 
pas'sed success fully tliro-ug'h the normal schools. In case of a 
lack of regular positions, these young men, who are necessa- 
rily provided with " irrefutable evidence of ability and moral- 
ity," should receive temporary appointments, for " experience 
has sliown that they constitute the very best O'f onv teachers." 
The interest shown thus early was manifest all through his ad- 
minisit ration. 

In a circular to the rectors,' he recommended that they use 
tiieir efifoi-ts to introduce giardening into the normal school 
course in order that the future teachers might 
learn how to care for the school garden skil- 
fully and might thus suggest to the people of the coinmimities 
new opportunities for increasing their income. In June of the 
next year musical instruction was made obligatory for all the 
pupils — not the simple hymnology as heretofore — but a good, 

thoroug*!! course in singing, reading and writ- 

- ,. . ,, . Music 

mg music irom dictation, as well as practice 

on the organ or the piano. Tbis work, exclusive of the in- 
strumental practice, was allotted four hours per week through- 
out the three years. ^ In the spring of 1865 a normal school 
was created in Algeria under a special form of organization.- 
In the circulars to the rectors, September i, 1865 and May 
17, 1866, '^ Duruy recommended, and then ordered, that they 
establish pedagogical conferences in the noir- 

mal schools of their academies. These were J' agogica 

Lonierences 
to continue through the last trimester of the 

normal course and were to serve as a kind of review of the 

lectures in pedagogy, to " initiate the students into the true 

1 Circ, Oct. 17, 1863, Duruy, Circulaires et Instructions OMcielles Rela- 
tives a I'Instruction Publique, p. 55. 

2 Circ, Dec. 22, 1864, Duruy, op. cit., p. 195. 
^Arrets, Jan. 30, 1865, Gr. IV, pp. 37-38. 

* Decret, Mar. 4. 1865, Gr. IV, pp. 38-39. 
s Duruy, op. cit., pp. 282, 356-357. 



l6o PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

principles oif education and the principal methods of instruc- 
tion." ^ In December, 1867, a reg-ular pro- 
Agriculture , , . . ° '■ 

gram for the course m aigriculture was 

adopted, and for the future this Avork was carried 011 more 

logically than heretofore.^ 

The great work of Minister Dui*uy for the nonual schools, 

however, was the entire reorganization prO'vided by the decree 

O'f July 2, 1866, and the mdnisterial circular of 

Reorganization the same date.'' About the only new subjects 

^ . , specifically mentioned here are eeometry and 

Curriculum . b j 

bookkeeping. There are, however, many and 
important changes in the old subjects. The work in history 
and geography is particularly enriched, for instead of one hour 
per week for each during the third year, three hours are de- 
voted to both throughout the entire course. The field is still 
much attenuiated, for the first year is occupied with all oi an- 
cient history and that of France througli the tenth century. 
The last two years furnish a more satisfactory amount of time 
for French history from that period tO' the present. We now 
find for the first time the well-known threefold division of the 
geography course, which remains practically unchanged to- 
day : first year, all the world except Europe ; second year, all 
Europe except France; third year, France and her colonies. 
Tihere is this striking change, however : the optional subjects 
of 185 1 ha^'e been generally made obligatory, and most of 
them continue throughout the entire three years' course. 

Tlie irregular work in pedagogy now becomes " exposition 
of the best methods; physical, intellectual and moral educa- 
tion; and school organization," and receives one hour per 
week during the third year. Although assigned no regular 
place in the program, the work in the ccolc annexe is recog- 
nized as forming the principal part of the pedagogical train- 
ing of the pupils, and according to M. Duruy this should be 
a model school in every sense of the word.* As a means of 

1 Duruy, op. cit., p. 356. 

^ Arrete, Dec. 30, 1867, Gr. IV, pp. 183-185. 

■■« Gr. IV. pp. 90-103. * Circ, July 2, 1866, Gr. IV. p. lor. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS l6l 

stii'l further intreasdng the importance of this department, its 
director is put on equal footing with the masters of the nor- 
mal school itself. Tlie powers of the commission de surveil- 
lance remain practically unc'hanged. The director, appointed 
by the Minister as heretoifore, is specifically required to con- 
duct the class in pedagoigy. 

The age for entering is now between sixteen and twenty, 
and the competitive entrance examination is restored. Instead 
O'f the previous simple test, this included a 

written and an oral examination.^ The writ- „ . ^.^ 

JcLxamination 

ten examination consisted of writing, dicta- 
tion, a simiple narrative, and the so'lution of a few problems 
in arithmetic. The oral examination covered some questions 
on religious instruction, reading and the explanation of an 
eas}^ French text, questions on the elements of French gram- 
mar, on the theory of the four first operations in arithmetic 
and the metric system, and also on the history and geography 
of France. In order tO' provide still better opportunities for 
preparation for entering the normal school, M. Duruy recom- 
mended to the rectors ' that they establish in each normal 
sdiooil a preparatory class for the children oif teachers. Ad- 
mission 'Was restricted to those that had attained the age o^f 
thirteen or fourteen years and h'ad completed the ordinary 
public school course. These classes were to be conducted by 
the instructors and the members of the third year class of the 
normal schooh 

The internal conduct o'f the school was stiil only a little less 
than monastic, but the vacations have been lengthened to six 
weeks, besides the week at Easter. Another one of the recom- 
mendations of the ministerial circular of July 2, 1866,^ de- 
serves tO' be noted. It suggests that the third 
year pupils should be used to relieve the teach- ^ . 
ers of some of the work of surveillance, for 
they are soon tO' go out to be masters in their turn. It is cer- 
tainly unfortunate that this suggestion has not been accepted 

1 Arrete, Dec. 31, 1867, Gr. IV, .pp. 185-187. 

" Circ, Oct. 20, 1868, Duruy, op. cit., pp. 611-612. » Gr. IV, p. loi. 



l62 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

in France, for this seems to be one oi the greatest faults in the 
training of teadiers to-day — the neglect of cultivating a spirit 
of leadership. Tliis is even more intensified by the entire lack 
O'f student organizations in the normal schools themselves, or 
in the country at large, for that matter. While undoubtedly 
these new regTilations left much to be desired from the ideal 
point of view, yet they worked well practically, and continued 
almost unmodified until 1881. 

One of the last official acts of Minister Duruy 'was to initiate 

the movement that was to place the normal schools for girls 

on equal footing with tiiose for boys. The 

Movement i^^^ ^f j^g^y 1 j^^d recently made it obligatory 

^. J , g . , for every commune of five hundred inhabitants 
and over ^ to support separate schools for girls, 
and as these latter must have women teachers, new difficulties 
arose forthfwith. At that time there were in all France only 
nine normal schools for girls and fifty-three normal courses,^ 
which siaitisfied the wants, as best they could, O'f ten and fifty 
departments respectively. Under the most favorable condi- 
tions there yet remained nearly thirty departments that were 
entirely unprovided for. Besides this, these normal courses 
were conducted as mere appendages of other educational insti- 
tutions, many of them outside the direct control of the State, 
and the instruction was most unsatisfactory. This was the 
state oi affairs that confronted M. Duruy and called forth his 
letter tO' the prefects asking for the exact coudition oif these 
girls' schools in the several departments. A few days later 
M. Duruy retired from the ministry, and the responsibilities of 
the Franco-Prussian war soon relegated the question of nor- 
mal schools to a secondary position. 

For the next few years there was little of absorbing interest. 
Tlie salaries of the directors and teachers in both the boys' and 

1 Loi, Apr. 10. 1867, Gr. IV, p. 133. 

2 The law of Mar. 15, 1856, Art. 51 (Gr. Ill, p. 336), had made the same 
requiremejits for communes of eight hundred inhabitants and over. Al- 
though this number was later decreased to four hundred, yet to-day it re- 
mains as in the law of 1867. 

•^ Circ, July 6, 1869, Gr. IV, p. 227. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 



163 



the girls' normal schooils were increased slightly. In 1872 the 
new Minister beg-an working over the curricukim of the 
schoo'ls. He seemed to feel the need for some improvement, 
but he did not knotw exactly Vv^here or liow it should be made. 
A succeeding Minister, M. Fourtou, grappled with the prob- 
lem more successfully. He sought to strengthen the normial 
course by bringing teachers from the ranks of secondary edu- 
cation to give some of the work in the normal schools.^ Al- 
though he attempted to prepare the way for the innovation by 
lauding the work already done by the teachers in the normal 
schooils, and also by saying that tbe undertaking was only an 
experiment, his criticisms seem well founded, for the teaching 
force could not help a certain lack of depth in their knowledge, 
because almost Avithoii't exception they had come up directly 
from the primary s'chools. The new plan was intended espec- 
ially to apply to the work in physiical and natural science. 
T'his method O'f employing secondary teachers in the normal 
schools still prevails almost exclusively at the ecoles normales 
prim-aires superieiires at Fontenay-aux-Roses and Saint-Cloud, 
which prepare the teachers for the ecoles normales primaires, 
but it has practically ceased to exist in the departmental nor- 
mal schools. 

The first ministry of Jules Ferry — February 4, 1879 to 
November 14, 1881 — ^marks the beginning o'f a new period 
in the history of the normal schools. Then 
France had recovered somewhat from the de- 
pression that immediately followed the Franco- Prussian war, 
and the time seemed ripe for a new advance. M. Ferry was 
aibly seconded in all his efforts by M. Buisson, then director O'f 
primary education, a m&n who has been intimately associated 
with all the great educational movements in France for the 
last twenty-five years. A great number O'f regulations affect- 
ing all branches O'f education followed each other in rapid suc- 
cession. This period of almost unparalleled activity was fit- 
tingly terminated by the great laws on free, laic, and comptil- 
sory education. 

1 Circ, Feb. 21, 1874, Gr. IV, pp. 511-513. 



1 64 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

For the normal schools, the important period beg-an a little 

earlier. The law of 1879 aliowed each department four years 

in which to provide itself with two normal 

Normal Schools schools, one for boys and the other for girls, 

Obligatory for , . . , .^ . , . . , 

Both Sexes unless it received omcial permission to com- 
bine with another department for that pur- 
pose/ Thus for the first time we find the girls' schools, in 
the eyes of the law at least, on the same footing with those of 
the boys. At the time this law was passed, France itself had 
seventy-nine normal schools for 'boys and nineteen for girls. 
Since then the number has rapidly increased, so that in 1905 
in France and Algeria there were eighty-five boys" and eighty- 
four girls' schools. By means of combinations in the few re- 
maining departments, all of them proA'ide for the recruitment 
of their teachers, and the requirements of this law of 1879 ^^^ 
fully satisfied. 

The decree and the regulation of June, 1880,' provided that 
nobody could become a regular teacher in the nonnal schools 
w'ithoiit first passing a special examination 
Special Ex- either in letters or sciences, and thus gaining 
th T chers ^^^ certificate for the professorship in the ecoles 
nornialcs. Two years later,^ an examination 
was demanded of every candidate, man or woman, for the 
directorship of a normal school. As a prerequisite for this 
the candidate must be at least twenty-five years old and hold 
the certiHcat d' aptitude au professorat des ecoles normales or 
an equivalent degree in secondary education. The primary 
inspectors of both sexes were likewise held to. the same re- 
quirements. 

The great free education law oi 1881, one of the most im- 
portant events in the educational history Oif France, carried the 
gratuite even into the normal schools, and 

.. f.^! , abolished all regular fees there even for food 
Abolished r 1 • i 

and lodgmg. A few months before this, the 

1 Loi, Aug. 9, 1879, Art. i, Gr. V, p. 72. 

2 Decret and arrete, June 5, 1880, Gr. V, pp. 161-162; 165-167. 

3 Decret, Dec. 23, 1882, Gr. V, pp. 488-489. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 



165 



normal scliool programs that had been in force since 1866 
were entirely reformed, only to be changed again slightly in 
the following July/ The laicization of all public school in- 
struction the next year caused still further changes in Janu- 
ary, 1883." 

The program of January, 1881 was composed of the fol- 
lowing subjects: ^ 

" Instruction in the primary normal schools, whether for boys 
or for girls, includes, besides the religious instruction which is re- 
served for the ministers of the various denominations (appointed 
as chaplains by the Minister) : 

(i) Moral and civic instruction; 

(2) Reading; 

(3) Writing; 

(4) French language and literature ; 

(5) History, and particularly that of France down to the 
present time ; 

(6) Geography, and particularly that of France; 

(7) Arithmetical operations, the metric system, arithmetic ap- 
plied to practical work; some notions of algebraic solutions; some 
notions of book keeping ; 

(8) Geometry, surveying and levelling (for the boys only) ; 

(9) Some general knowledge of physical science applicable to 
practical life; 

( 10) Some general knowledge of natural sciences with their 
principal applications ; 

(11) Agriculture (for the boys) ; domestic economy (for the 
girls) ; horticulture; 

(12) Drawing; 

(13) Singing; 

(14) Gymnastics; 

(15) Manual work (for the boys) ; needle work (for the 
girls) ; 

(16) Pedagogy. 

The study of one or more modern languages, as well as of some 
musical instrument may be authorized by the rector." 

1 Decret, July 29, 1881, Gr. V, p. 269. 

2 Decret, Jan. 9, 1883, Gr. V, p. 504. 
^Decret, Jan. 22, 1881, Gr. V, p. 248. 



l66 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

The chief innovations as compared with the program of 
1866 are: (i) the introductioii of elementary algebra; (2) 
manual work as such for both boys and girls; and (3) the 
study of a modem langii^e, which had disappeared nearly 
fi'fty years before, is now made optional. 

The program of the following July added military drill for 
the boys, and facilitated the introduction of the modern lan- 
guages. At the revision of 1883 the old religious teaching 
disappeared entirely, and its place was supplied by a broader 
interpretation oif moral and civic instruction. The spirit of 
change seemed rampant, for the organic law of 1886 and the 
amplification O'f this the foillowing January affected all the 
primary schoois oi every grade. A discussion of these points, 
however, will be reserved for a later chapter. 

As early as 1878/ M. Chalmet had proposed that an ecolc 

pedagogique be established at Paris to train women for service 

in the departmental nonnal schools. Although 

'fo^y , futile at first, the effort was finally successful, 
Normal Schools ■' 

the decree oi July 13, 1880,^ formally pro- 
vided for such an institution, and the school was opened at 
Fontenay-aux-Roses, one of the suburbs of Paris, the follow- 
ing November. Tlien for the first time in this one particular, 
the education of girls in France seemed a little in advance of 
that of boys. But this advantage was only transitory, for a 
similar school for boys was provided for at Saint-Cloud, not 
far outside the walls of Paris. ^ This school had already had 
a nominal beginning in March, 1882, in consequence of the 
regulation of the previous year,* which had established a kind 
of nonnal coiirse at Paris expressly to prepare for the certiUcat 
d' aptitude for teaching in the normal schools. 

These two institutions at Fontenay-aux-Roses and Saint- 
Clond form the keystone, as it were, of the pubHc primary 
school system in France. Tliey provide the natural means of 

1 Proposition de hi, Jan. 29, 1878, Gr. IV, p. 771. 
^ Decret, July 13, 1880, Gr. V, pp. 200-201. 
3 Decret and arrete, Dec. 30, 1882, Gr. V, pp. 498-500. 
* Arrete, Mar. 9, 1881 ; Bull. Adm., XXIV, p. SU- 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 



167 



transition from pupil in the ordinary normal school to teacher 
in the same institution. Many of the teachers in the largest 
ecoles primaires superieures, especially in the science depart- 
ments, also receive their training here. Althoiig'h some oi the 
departmental normal schoo'ls prepare directly for these two 
finishing schools, these latter also' draw tlieir puipils from 
among yoimg teachers that have spent a few years in active 
service, and even from the ranks of secondary education. The 
former O'f these two latter classes undoubtedly become the most 
succesisful normal teachers, for besides the necessary technical 
knowledge and cultural attainments, they have had some first- 
hand acquaintance with the difficulties that are likely to beset 
their pupils in their later work. 



: CHAPTER IX 

The Normal Schools (2) 
organization pupils 

In the earlier chapters we have followed rather carefully 
the career of the pupil from the beginning of his school life 
through the various steps that lead directly up to the no^rmal 
schools. There now remains to consider the organization of 
the schools that provide the final preparation for the teaching 
profession and to see exactly what that training is. 

The normal schools in France to-day exist primarily because 
of the law of 1879, that required every department to main- 
tain two schools of its own. While the Presi- 

Number of ^ j. ^^ ^ Republic was given power to 

Schools ,. ,.. r, ri- 

authorize combmatioins of departments for this 
purpose, yet local pride was an influential factor, and prac- 
tically none took advantage of this provision. The number of 
normal schools increased steadily until the high-water mark 
was reached in 1890, w*hen there were boys' schools in all the 
departments of France itself, and girls' schools in all but two 
departments. 

This 'was really a severe burden and a drawback in the case 
of the smaller departments, and tlie results did not seem to jus- 
tify the expense involved. For instance in 

Size of the iqoT,, in one of the departments, one of the 
Schools , , 1 , , , , -,1 

normal schools numbered only twelve pupils. 

It can readily be seen that after dividing these among three 

classes, the training possible under those circumstances would 

be really not much more than private coaching. That this is 

1 Statistique, VII, 1901-1902. MS. copy. (I was indebted to M. Ballet- 
Baz for permission to consult the MS. copy of the forthcoming volume. 
F. E. F.) 
168 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 



169 



not a very extreme case is shown by the followhig figures 
from the last report : ^ 

Number of schools having fewer than.... 30 pupils. 40 pupils. 

Boys' 21 46 

Girls' 14 36 

This does not mean that there were so many more pupils in 
the girls' schools than in the boys', but simply that in the latter 
the average variation was greater. At that time the eighty- 
six boys' schoo'ls had 3,897 pupils, and the eighty-four girls' 
schools 4,094. The simplest solution of the question seemed 
to be to combine the paipils o'f at least two departments in a 
single schooh This is always a Httle difficult to do after a de- 
partment has gone tO' the trouble and expense of erecting build- 
ings, and besides, the presence O'f a normal school in a small 
town is a source of no Httle income to the inhabitants. How- 
ever, the authorities have insisted, and this fusion has already 
taken place in six departments. So that in 1903, in the eighty- 
seven departments (including the territory of Belfort) in 
France there were eighty-four nx)rmal schools for boys and 
eighty-two for girls." The three departmients of Algeria have 
two O'f each among them. There is thus no lack of schools 
for the training of teachers, and comparatively few of them 
are filled to their capacity. 

The idea for the necessity of training primary teachers is 
certainly well grounded in France — in fact much better than 
it is with us, I regret to adm'it — ^but the chief 

drawback is a lack of funds, or rather oif funds t,,.,.^*^ .° 

Militarism 

for educational purposes. It is this terrible 
armed peace that is sapping the very life-blood of all the con- 
tinental nations to-day. We in America have no adequate con- 
ception of what this means. Compare for a moment the mili- 
tary and naval budget for 1902 with that of the educational 
department: 1,022,281,106 francs as against 208,662,781 
francs for the schools.^ With this France is maintaining an 

1 Statistique, VII, 1901-1902, pp. 274-283. 

2 These figures must be reduced again, for in 1904 the boys' schools in 
Tarn and Haute-Garonne were consolidated. 

^ Ahnanach de Gotha, 1903, p. 789. 



170 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

army of more than 500,000 men, to say nothing of her navy. 
Think what a drain this must be on a nation of about thirty- 
eight milhons of people! Is it any wonder that one hears 
complaints on every side, " The State takes the best oif our 
young men, the best O'f our horses, the best of our grain, in 
fact, the best of everv^thing." The scnncc dc deux ans, which 
was voted by Parliament in 1903. may ameHorate these con- 
ditions somewhat, but it will probably react on the boys' nor- 
mal schools, for this new law is applicaWe to every able-bodied 
man, whether preparing for professional life or not. With 
the three years of service it was possible for teachers and pro- 
fessional men tO' escape with one year in the army. Accord- 
ing to the French idea, this new reform arrangeinent indicates 
a broader democratic spirit, inasmuch as all will be treated 
alike, thougth there is no' reduction of service granted on ac- 
count of unusual application, and the dullard completes his 
time as quickly as his more assiduous fellow. 

The present organization of the nomial schools is based 
upon the organic law^ and its accompanying decrees of 1886- 

1887. In fact, since then the educational 
Organization , . . , 1, • , 1 

authorities have generally tried to make as 

few changes as possible in the existing conditions, and then 
onl}' those absolutely necessary. Not that the system is by 
any means believed to be perfect, but it w^as arranged at that 
time with so much care and thought that few important 
changes have since been found necessary. Under the present 
conditions every department in France is served by tw^o nor- 
mal schools, one for boys and the other for girls, usually situ- 
ated in the chief town of the department. These are said to 
furnish about two thirds of all the teachers for the public pri- 
mary schools. Judging from my own inquiries at the eleven 
normal schools visited, I should put the figure lower than this. 
Strange tO' say, the proportion seems to vary inversely as the 
size and importance of the department. 

The normal schools are directly under the charge of the 
rector of the academy, though most of the inspection devolves 
upon the academy inspector of the department in question. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 



171 



The general inspectors also visit the schools occasionally in the 
course o'f their tours. E^ch school has its own head called a 
director, or directress as the case may be, and a committee of 
the professo'rs who meet at least once a month to- consider the 
general work and discipline of the school. The teaching force 
in the boys' schools is always composed exclusively of men, 
and in the girls' schools almost always of women. In the 
smaller girls' schools, however, the drawing teachers are often 
men. In this latter case the same proifessor usually has the 
work at both normal schools and in whatever secondary schools 
there may happeri to be in the town. Each school has also' an 
administrative board composed of the academy inspector as 
president, four members appointed by the rector and two rep- 
resentatives of the conseil general of the department who are 
elected by their fello'W councillors. This board receives the 
report O'f the director, approves the annual budget, and exer- 
cises a general supervision over the non^edagogical interests 
of the school.^ 

The expenses of these schools are divided between two par- 
ties, the State and the departments. The department is re- 
quired to provide the material installation, and ^ 

Exocnscs 

its maintenance, while the State pays all sala- 
ries for instruction and the living expenses o'f the pupils while 
at the schooi. Some O'f the wealthier departments often do 
far more than they are actually compelled to do. For ex- 
ample, the department of the Seine provides the boys at Auteuil 
with all the ciothing sufficient -for their whole course. Be- 
sides this, among other things are the annual excursions dur- 
ing the summer. At tlids time twenty-four of the best pupils, 
one half nanied by the teachers and one half by the pupils 
themselves, accompanied by three or four teachers go off on 
a several weeks' trip, all the expenses 'being paid by the de- 
partment. During the last few years, excursions have been 
made to England, Germany, Sardinia and southeast France, 
and Spain. Each pupil is required to write an account of his 
trip. Unfortunately most of the departments are not able to 
'^Decret, Mar. 29, 1890, Art. 2, Gr. VI. p. 241. 



172 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



undertake any such expense as this requiires. The annual 
budget of the State for normal school expenses was 7,957,972 
francs for France proper in 1902.^ On a basis of 7,842 pupils 
that same year, this gives an average per pupil of a little more 
than one thousand francs. About half of this is expended for 
salaries and the other half for the living expenses of the pupils. 
The schoo'l buildings are universally sulbstantial structures 
of stone or brick, and even in the cities are surrounded by 
sipacioiis grounds, with plenty of room for flow- 
"r '"^^^" ers in front and usually for large vegetable gar- 
dens behind. These latter are often O'f no little 
importance, for many of the countrv' schools not only raise 
much of the fruit and vegetables for their own use but they 
even have some to sell. In one school in the south, the di- 
rector said that in 1902 they sold more than two hundred 
francs' -worth of vegetables, besides a good deal o'f wine from 
their vineyard. This question of space is reahy an important 
consideration in the French normal schools, for the pupils sel- 
dom leave the premises during term time except on Sundays 
and occasionally on Tliursdays. So most O'f their recreation 
must be taken on the grounds themselves. The condition of 
the buildings that I visited was generally good, that of the 
boys' schools at Paris and Lyon, and the girls' school at Douai 
being especially commendable. In the schools as a whole, 
everything aJbout the buildings was neat and clean, thougli 
from my own point of view rather cheerless. One reason for 
this is that the pupil has no place that he can call his own, 
no place where he can retire and shut himself away from 
his fellows. 

The boys' sleeping accommodations are either in large open 

dormitories with thirty to fifty pupils in each, or in little 

cubicles with plentv of open space above for 

Dormitories ,., ,. -^ ' . . , . . ^ . , 

hg^ht and air. in the girls schools, 1 found 
this latter arrangement generally followed. In no case, how- 
ever, are the pupils allowed to decorate their rooms as they 
wish, but ever^lrhing is subjected to a kind of military sim- 

1 Statistique, VII. 1901-1902, p. clxxx. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 1 73 

plicity. The lavatories are ordinarily grouped at each end of 
the dormitory. The facilities for a full bath were almost 
everywhere very inadequate, as a rule the pupils getting- a hot 
bath but once in three weeks and a foot bath at least once a 
week. At the girls' school at Douai, about thirty of the girls 
availed themselves oi the opportunity to take a cold shower 
every morning. The pupils' clothes are usually kept in a 
separate room in open lockers, and this is always well aired. 
Everywhere I went, I found an infirmary which I was glad to 
learn was comparatively seldom used. 

Each class has its own study roomi iwith desks for the in- 
dividual pupils. Here all the text-books are kept, and here 

most of the studying is done. There are also 

, , , . , ... Study Rooms 

other class rooms and special rooms for physics, 

chemistry, and drawing, as well as work-shops both for wood 
and iron. Generally speaking, the facilities for individual ex- 
periments in science — nMnipidation, the French call it — are 
not very satisfactory. The dining rooms were invariably 
large, well lighted and well aired, but the absence o'f table- 
cloths gave rather a chilling effect. The bare floors through- 
out the buildings and the general lack of decoration are not 
conducive to engendering any home feeling among the pupils. 
Tlie teaching force oif a normal school regularly consists 
of the director and four professors, two of letters and twO' of 

science, but if there are more than sixty pupils, ^ , 

r ■ • 1 1 1 T Teachers 

a third professor of science is added, in case, 

however, the number O'f pupils falls below thirty-six, one of 
the professorships may be suppressed and the work divided 
among the other teachers.^ Besides these, there are ordinarily 
special teachers for whatever modern language is taught in the 
school, for draaVing, music, g}'mnastics and agriculture. Tliese 
special teachers are often attached to the department of second- 
ary education, but are delegated by the Minister to give certain 
hours of instruction in the normal schools. In the smaller 
sdhools, one of the professors is appointed econome, a kind of 
bursar-steward. He is the financial ofificer of the institution, 

1 Loi de Finances. May 30. 1899. Art. 35. Gr. VI, p. 882. 



174 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



\mys, all supplies, plans the meals, and has general charge of 
everything pertaining to the buildings and grounds. In 
schools Avhere there are more than sixty pupils, the econome 
may be relieved of all class work except penmanship and book- 
keeping/ The director of the ecolc annexe is usually included 
in the same category with the processors in fhe normal schools. 
We may also fairly consider the class teachers of the ecole 
annexe as forming a part of the normal force, (though offi- 
cially they are reckoned among the teachers in the ecoles 
primmres elementaires) for they are directly concerned in criti- 
cizing the practice work. In the largest schools in addition 
to all these instructors, t'here are also skilled workmen in the 
workshops to assist the professor in charge of the manual 
training. 

The directors are required to be at least thirty years of age, 
to hold the certificate for the inspection of elementary schools 
md direction of the normal schools, and the cer- 
tificate for the professorat in the normal schools 
or a degree from secondary or higher education that may be 
substituted for this latter.- Inasmuch as the first of these 
certificates may be gained at twenty-five years of age, wherea'^ 
the actual appointment to the directorship cannot be received 
before thirty, it practically always happens that the men normal 
sc'hool directors have passed at least five years in the inspector- 
ate. This is certainly most valuable training for them, for 
thus they can appreciate far better the difficulties and needs 
that will confront the young teachers the}^ are tO' send out into 
the world. On account oi the comparatively small number 
of women inspectors, few o'f the directresses of the normal 
schools have had this field work. They have all, however, had 
more or less practical experience as teachers. The directors as 
well as all the other professors or special instructors are ap- 
pointed directly by the Minister and consequently may be trans- 
ferred or removed only by him. 

The regular professors are divided into two classes, those 

1 Lot, July 19, 1889, Art. 21, Gr. VI, p. 172. 

^ DScret, Jan. 18. 1887, Arts. 62, no, Gr. V, pp. 72i, 749- 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 1 75 

of letters and those of science, and are required to hold the 
general certificate for teaching in the normal schools. Besides 
this the teachers of modern languages, drawing, singing and 
music. g\Tnnastics. manual training or agriculture, as the case 
may 'be, must also possess special certificates for teaching these 
subjects.^ These latter certificates are absolutely obligatory 
for the extra teachers that may be delegated in case the sui>i)ly 
of candidates provided with the general normal certificate is 
not sufficient. 

Since the higher nonnal schools at Fontenay-aux-Roses 
and Saint-Cloud were founded, a little more than twenty years 
ago. they have prepared a good many teachers 
for the ordinary normal schools, and to-day Criticism of the 
tfhey are the natural preparatory schools for th^T^'h"^ 
these positions. Fro'm the point of view O'f 
academic fitness, there is absolutely nothing to be said, but on 
the practical side there is, however, a very serious objection 
to the present system. It is perfectly possible for the gradu- 
ates of these two higher schools to finish their work without 
ever having had any real experience in school work. Of 
course they have had a certain amount of practice teaching, 
but that is far from- sufficient to fit them to become normal 
school teachers. It is only fair to state that some of the 
pupils, especially at Saint-Cloud, have already spent several 
years in the elementary schools, but until from three to five 
years' service in actual teaching is rigidly required of all pupils 
at Fontenay-aux-Roses and Saint-Cloud, either as a condition 
of admission or as a requisite for graduation, it wo'uld seem 
that these two great schools are failing in one of their chief 
missions. If all that is required of the ordinary normal school 
teachers is mere academic training, why not take them from 
the ranks of secondary education? The extra time that this 
ne^v plan would require would certainly be well spent, and 
twenty-eight or thirty years is none too old to begin to be a 
teacher oif teachers. 

The directors, who are always responsible for the work in 

1 Decret, Jan. 18, 1887. Art. 65, Gr. V, p. 734. 



176 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



pedagogy and morale, have ordinarily six hours of class work 
per week. While the other professors have from 
Service and sixteen to twenty. In the boys' schools, the 
director, the econonic, and the specially ap- 
pointed sit/rveillants are the only teachers that live in the build- 
ings. In the girls' schools, however, none of the women reg- 
ular teachers may live outside except with the consent of the 
rector. These surueillants in the boys' schools are the only 
members of the staff that receive their board at the expense 
of the State. All the other teachers of whatever sort that live 
at the schools have the sum of four hundred francs each de- 
ducted from their regular salaries to pay for their living 
expenses.^ 

The directors and the professors of all the schools are 
divided into five classes, and their promotion is based entirely 
upon c'hoice, after not less than three nor more than six years 
in the class next below." The salaries oi the various classes 
are as follows : ^ 

Men. Women. 

Directors. Professors. Directresses. Professors. 

5lh class 3500 fr. 2500 fr. 3000 fr. 2200 fr. 

4th class 4000 2700 3500 2400 

3d class 4500 2900 4000 2600 

2d class 5000 3100 4500 2800 

I st class 5500 3400 5000 3000 

The teachers -who are delegated by the Minister to give 
instruction in the normal schools but who do not hold the gen- 
eral certificate for the profcssorat, all receive the same salary, 
two thousand francs in the boys' schools and eighteen hundred 
francs in the girls'.* Tlie regular professors that also have 
certificates for special subjects receive in addition to their regu- 
lar salaries an extra remuneration of from one hundred francs 
per year for gymnastics to three hundred francs for manual 

1 Loi, July 25, 1893, Art. 18, Gr. VI, p. 505- 

2 Ihid., Art. 25, Gr. VI, p. 506. 

3 Loi, July 19, 1889, with amendments July 19, 1893, Arts. 17, 18, Gr. VI, 
pp. 171, 505. 

* Loi, July 25, 1893, Art. 18, Gr. VI, p. 505- 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 1 77 

training and modern languages.^ Thus although not abso- 
lutely requiring all the professors in the normal schools to be 
specialists, yet the government by such means as this encour- 
ages them to devote themselves particularly to certain subjects. 
Moreover, the teachers that hold these special diplomas are 
paid at the rate of one hundred francs per year for each hour 
per week that they are required to teach in excess of the regu- 
lar number. There is, however, a maximum for this extra 
remuneration in the various subjects, varying from the three 
hundred francs for gj^mnastics to six hundred for modern 
languages, drawing, and manual training.^ 

The director O'f the ecole annexe, if he holds the regular nor- 
mal certificate, is subject to the same conditions O'f class, pro- 
motion and salary as his fellow professors in 

the school proper.^ In addition tO' possessing g, , . 

'- ^ r £5 Ecole Annexe 

this certificate, he must have had at least three 
years' teaching experience in the public primary school system.* 
If he is not entitled to give instruction in the normal school, 
he must hold the brevet superieiir and have had at least ten 
years' experience as a teacher in order tO' become director of 
the practice school.^ It must be noted that the members of 
this latter class have nO' legal right tO' the title directeur, but 
are simply acting directors. They, as well as the other teach- 
ers that there may be in the ecole annexe, are subject tO' the 
same conditions of class, salary, lodging and residence in- 
demnity as the teachers in the ordinary schools. Besides all 
this, each teacher in the practice school has an extra stipend 
of three hundred francs per year.® 

In the girls' schools similar conditions prevail. There is, 
however, a directress for the ecole maternelle attached to 
many of the normal schools. In order to be 
appointed to this position, the candidate must c u \ 
be a titulaire with either the certiHcat d'apti- 

1 Loi, July ig, 1890, Art. 2, Gr. VI, p. 283. 

^ Decret, July 19, 1890, Art. 2, Gr. VI, p. 283. 

3 Decret, Oct. 4, 1894, Art. 6, Gr. VI, p. 580. 

* Ihid., Art. 4, Gr. VI, p. 580. Ibid. 

« Decret, Oct. 4. 1894, Arts. 7, 9, Gr. VI, p. 581. 



178 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

Hide pedagogique, or the old certificate for the direction of the 

ecoles niaternelles which was aboHshed in 1886. 

Every year the Minister, after recommendations from the 

rector and the conseil departcmental, decides upon the number 

of pupils to be admitted to the entering- class of 

The Normal each normal school. Tlie ideal naturally is to 

Schools and supply all the needs of the department, but ob- 

e ^ ^^ r viously it is impossible to estimate these three 
Sources of ■; ^ 

Supply of years in advance, and. more important still, the 
Teachers Minister has not unlimited means at his dis- 
posal. The result is that to-day the normal 
schools are providing from one half to two thirds O'f the teach- 
ers necessary for the primary schools. The question immedi- 
ately arises, " Where do the other teachers come from?" A 
few come in every year from the ranks of secondary education 
to take positions in the ecoles prinmires superieures; other 
appointments are made from among the holders of the hig-her 
diploma, the graduating certificate of the higher primary 
schools, and finally, when all other sources are exhausted, 
from those that hold the simple elementary diploma. 

The brevet superieur, until 1906, might fairly have been 
termed the leaving examination of the normal schools, inas- 
much as, though conducted entirely by the general authorities, 
every member O'f the graduating class was required to pre- 
sent himself for this examination. It is nevertheless open 
to all holders of the brevet clementairc that are at least eight- 
een years of age. Occasiionally we find a public school mak- 
ing special preparation for this diploma: for example, the 
fifth year of the course in the girls' ecole primaire superieurc 
in Lille is devoted entirely to the preparation for this examin- 
ation. The successful candidates thus save a year in enter- 
ing the teaching profession, for their classmates that go to 
the normal school spend three years in the higher primary 
school and three years more in the normal school, and inas- 
much as this latter is now providing for only about one half 
the needs of that department, the holders of the brevet su- 
perie-ur are as sure of teachers' appointments as are the nor- 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 1 70 

mal graduates that have spent six years in preparation for 
their work. 

Entrance to the nonnal schools is always by coni^jetitive 
examination, and the keenness of the competition varies 
greatly with the departments. In some, the 

niiinber of candidates is only slightlv in excess Recruitment 
1 (• 1 1 • ^^ Pupils 

of the number of scholarships — for these nor- 
mal school positions may fairly be considered in this light — 
whereas in Paris we find more than three times as many can- 
didates as there are vacancies in the boys' school, and more 
than six times as many as in the girls'. In order to be 
eligible for this examination, each candidate must: (i) be 
between sixteen and eighteen years O'f age; (2) hold the 
brevet elementaire; (3) agree to continue in the public school 
service for ten years; ^ and (4) be in perfectly good physical 
condition. - 

Tbe examination, which is administered by an examining 
board appointed by the rector, and composed of the academy 
inspector as president, with the director and 

Admission 

teachers of the school and a primary inspector 

necessarily forming a part of the commission, is divided into 

two series. The first series is entirely written and serves as 

1 As security he must give a bond signed by father, brother or guardian, 
agreeing, in case this covenant is broken, to reimburse the State for the 
expenses of food, laundry and books. This is equally applicable to those 
that leave or are excluded from the school during their course. (Decret, 
Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 78, Gr. V, p. 738). Until 1903 each boy furthermore 
covenanted writh the Minister of War to serve for ten years in educational 
service. By this means, he was required to serve only one year in the army 
instead of three. In case he broke this promise, he was bound to re-enter 
the army and serve out the other two years. This leniency toward the 
teaching profession had its disagreeable aspect, for if the teacher were 
dissatisfied with the service or his progress after three or four years, he 
was practically compelled to stay there, for at twenty-four or twenty-five 
years of age few would care to .spend two more years in the army, and 
then start out in the world afresh. On this account, at least, the new law 
requiring two years of service of all is welcomed by many. Some of the 
teachers feel that this universal two years' service will make the teaching 
profession less attractive to young men and that this will inevitably force 
an increase in salaries. 

^ Decret, Jan. 18. 1887, Art. 70, Gr. V, p. 736. 



l8o PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

a kind of preliminary trial, for only those that pass this suc- 
cessfully are admitted to the second part of the examination, 
which always takes place at the normal school. Tliis second 
series of tests lasts about a week, and during that time the 
candidates live at the school, though at their own expense. 
The teachers not only subject them to a severe technical ex- 
amination, but they also take advantage of the opportunity to 
study their prospective pupils from the point ot view of their 
general intellectual and moral qualifications. 

Tlie examination of the first series consists oi an exercise 
in dictation, a test of penmanship, a French composition, one 
or two problems in arithmetic, and finally a composition in 
drawing. The second series is almost entirely oral. Each 
pupil is questioned for at least a half hour on each subject, and 
the examiner has a good chance to find out rather accurately 
what the candidate is capable of doing. The subjects cov- 
ered here are: (i) French; (2) arithmetic and the metric sys- 
tem; (3) French history; (4) geography; and (5) element- 
ary physics, chemisti^y and natural history. Besides this, 
the pupils are required to write resumes of two- lectures 
given by the pro'fessors at the school, one on a subject in the 
department of letters and another in the department of science. 
There are furthermore examinations in music, singing, and 
gA-mnastics, together with military exercises for the boys 
and sewing for the girls. From the result of these examin- 
ations, the rector decides upon the admissibility of the 
candidates. 

Once in the school, the pupils are known as eleves-maitreSy 

or pupil teachers, and for the next three years are practically 

supported by the State. Up to 1880, it is said 
Discipline , ^ , ,. •^. ,. ^ , 

that the disciphne was more or less monastic, 

and even to-day, although far freer than formerly, according 
to our American ideas, it still savors too much of that ancient 
regime. Although the actual surtfeillance varies with the 
school and in general may be practically disregarded, yet the 
pupils can never feel free to do as they choose. From morn- 
ing till night, the disposition of their time is all provided for^ 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS jgl 

and there is almost no opportunity for the exercise of their 

own spirit of initiative. In the girls' schools, the rules and 

regulations are often very numerous. For example, in going 

to church on Sunda}\ they are conducted by one or more 

teachers and must always march through the streets of the 

town in double file and in perfect silence. 

It may be interesting to sketch the day of a boy in one of 

the most important schools. Early rising is everywhere the 

rule. The pupils here get up at five o'clock in 

summer and at half past five in winter. Dress- ^'^^ °^ 

1 ji r ,1 • , ^ the Pupils 

mg and the care of then- rooms occupy them for- 

half an hour, and the rest of the time until eight o'clock is 
spent in study. From the moment they leave their rooms in 
the morning, they do not return again until they go up to 
bed at night. In fact, there is no occasion for doing so for 
they could not study there if they chose. 

Each class has its own study room with individual desks 
and open lockers along the wall for books. In this room 
they keep all their school supplies and here they are all to be 
found gathered at every study period. Breakfast comes at 
eight o'clock, and from the time that is over until nine o'clock 
tiiey are left free to do as they choose. Some of the boys 
walk about the buildings or grounds, some spend the time in 
study, and still others may be seen sweeping out class rooms 
or corridors, for they are responsible for the entire care of 
all parts of the buildings that they use. For this purpose 
they are divided up into squads and put in charge of some of 
the third year boys so that this does not fall very heavily upon 
any one. Tlie teachers say that this system is not only econom- 
ical, but at the same time it teaches the boys to 
work and to control their equals. This is one Absence of 

. , - . . ,, „ , T , Training for 

of the few mstances m all I^ ranee where i have Leadership 

found any direct training for leadership. So 
often I have asked, " How do you expect to produce teach- 
ers capaible of directing and leading their pupils when you 
give them absolutely no opportunity to develop that power 
in your school?" Invariably the teachers are willing to ad- 



l82 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

mit the force of the question, but they immediately reply, 
" We cannot begin in this school." 

Just before nine o'clock, the boys g-ather in the study rooms, 
and as they march from there to the class rooms, the fortu- 
nate ones receive their mail. From nine until twelve there are 
three hours of class work with only sufficient intermission to 
pass from one room to another. Then comes the luncheon, 
though perhaps the majority of schools have dinner at noon 
and supper at night. By whatever name they are called these 
are both hearty meals, the dinner usually consisting of three 
courses and the luncheon or supper of two.^ From personal 
experience I can certainly vouch for the excellence of the food 
and the cooking at this particular school. Besides the dishes 
on the menu, each pupil is allowed a hal f -bottle oi wine or beer, 
depending on the section of the country, and as much bread 
as he wants. 

From then until one o'clock, the boys are free to walk about 

as they choose. I found a large group of them playing a 

kind of football with a hard ball a little smaller 

Lack of than our baseball. Strange to say the aver- 

nterest in ^ French boy seems to care very little for ath- 

Sports ° ^ -^ 

letic sports. At this same school, the boys had 
just begun to play football a little, but it will probably never 
become very popular, for as they have to go so far to find a 
suitaible playground they cannot spare the time more than 
once a week. At another normal school in the south, the 
director regretted very much that his boys did not care more 
for games. He said he had tried several times to interest 
them in sports. As long as the novelty lasted, the game 
would be popular, but the boys soon tired of it. They get 
their pleasure in talking together or in taking long walks in 
the country. 

In fact, dn all my experience, I have found but one 

1 Some specimen menus will be found in Appendix I. These are ar- 
ranged by the economc for a week in advance, and must also bear the 
signature of the director and sometimes that of the visiting physician. 
Thus the inspectors can see what the variety, at least, of the food has been. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 



183 



organization among the pnpils in any nonnal school in France.^ 

That sohtary exception was tlie Anglo-Saxon 
o-^-.i 111 -r>- T Student 

Society m the normal school at Pans. It was organizations 

started by M. Kuhn who had spent some time in 

England and finally finished with a year at Harvard. This 

organization meets one evening a week, and the boys seem 

unusually bright and interested in the Avork of their club. 

Tlie time from one o'clock until four is occupied with more 
class u"ork, and then oomes the chief recreation period of the 
day. From five o'clock until eight is devoted to classes, sludy 
or question periods. At eight o'clock, dinner and then free- 
dom until nine. This is the end of the day, and all retire for 
the night. Two third class boys are left to walk up and down 
in each dormitory for a few moments until everything is quiet, 
and then lights are soon extinguished. A surveillant has his 
O'wn room just outside each dormitory, but he practically never 
has to exercise his authority. 

Unfortunately one does not always find this leniency 
everywhere, especially at the girls' schools. According to 
Mr. Brereton, "One directress told me she had 

, 1 , -1 • 1 i 11 • -J • Duscipline in 

never yet caught a smgle girl talkmg m dormi- /„ 

tory, and it was not from lack of trying." ^ I 
came across a case almost exactly parallel in the south of 
France, the only difference being that the directress did not 
emphasize the second part of the statement. 

Tbe girls are everywhere very carefully looked after. At the 
beginning of the school year, the directress asks the parents 
of every pupil for a list of the persons with whom their 
daughter is allowed to correspond. Every letter that leaves 
the school must be addressed to one of these persons, and 
e\'ery letter that comes must bear the name of the sender on 
the outside of the envelope. In case any unknown name ap- 

1 Mr. Brereton found a rather different situation in the schools he vis- 
ited, for he speaks of finding football teams at three schools and bands at 
two. This evident leaning toward sports may possibly be due to the prox- 
imity of these schools to England. (Brereton, The Rural Schools of North- 
west France, p. 171.) 

2 Brereton, op. cit., p. 158. 



1 84 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

pears, the directress sends the letter immediately to the girls' 
parents. Fortunately the boys are not so closely confined. 
The present life, however, is so much freer than that of 
former times, and the French girls in general are confined 
by so many restrictions that to them the discipline even now 
does not seem unduly severe. In fact, the pupils everywhere 
appear very contented and happy and are apparently working 
with a sincerity and a purpose quite in harmony with the re- 
sponsibilities of their future profession. 

In every school, one finds good sized, well-stocked libra- 
ries at the pupils' command. The only criticism one might 

make is that they are too exclusively classical, 
Libraries i • i- • i i i i - , 

too much m Ime with the every day work O't the 

school, for when one is at work so steadily as are most of the 
pupils here, there is all the more need for a little reading of 
a lighter sort by way of relaxation. In many of the schools, 
I am afraid the libraries are not much used except for study. 
At Auteuil, however, I was glad to find this part of the 
pupils' reading well looked after. During the first two years 
every boy has to read three books a month that are quite aside 
from the regular required work. He is left practically free 
to follow his own inclination, but he is naturally encouraged 
to make a wise selection and to vary the subject matter. Fi- 
nally, he writes an abstract of each book with a study of the 
principal characters, if such treatment is possible, and his own 
impressions of the work. On the opposite page O'f his note- 
book there is room for any striking quotations that he wishes 
to note. Most of the other schools complain that the regular 
work is so exacting that they have no time for this kind of 
reading, but at none of those that I visited was the ordinary 
work any more exacting than at Auteuil. 

One always finds in these school libraries the important edu- 
cational magazines as well as the prominent French literary 

and scientific reviews, most of these latter ap- 
Newspapers . , , rr^. .. 

pearmg weekly. ihe ordmary newspaper, 

however, is strictly tabooed, for this is invariably too much of 

a political journal to suit the ideas of the central authorities. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 



185 



For the news of the world, then, the pupils have to depend 
upon the above-named reviews, but practically all the direct- 
ors use the general assemblies to acquaint the pupils with any 
striking political events of current importance. This dq^riva- 
tion of the newspapers is not at all comparable to a similar re- 
striction in America, for as a rule the intelligent Frenchman 
does not read his newspaper for the news he finds there, but 
for the political or literary articles it contains. This seems 
to be one of the striking differences between the mental tem- 
peraments of the people of the two great republics. 

Another unique feature of the work at Auteuil is the Thurs- 
day promenades. At the normal schoois there is seldom any 
regular class work on Thursday mornings and 
■never in the afternoons. So' every Thursday 
afternoon, the boys at Auteuil are sent off by classes to visit 
the different points of interest in and around Paris. They 
invariably go under the charge of one or more teachers, and 
these latter are always ready tO' furnish whatever explanations 
are necessary or desirable. The excursions take place rain 
or shine, so' that in the coin-se of the three years at the school 
each boy will have made about one hundred and twenty of 
these trips. They include all the principal points of interest, 
the Louvre, the Salon, and even an occasional matinee when 
a classic play is being presented. The boys are under abso- 
lutely no expense for any of these trips. They not only bring 
the pupils into contact with a much broader culture, but they 
also teach the boys that live in the surrounding towns to 
know the city with the wealth of material which it possesses, 
and thus they lit them for becoming more effective teachers 
in the schools of the metropolis. Unfortunately, the other 
departments cannot regularly afford such things, and their 
pupils have to content themselves with an occasional promenade 
of this sort and many quiet walks in the country. Some of 
the teachers, however, use this time for geological or botani- 
cal excursions. 

The school vacations in France are neither numerous nor 
long. Besides the regular holidays, the normal schools have 



l86 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

a few days at New Years, about twelve days at 
Vacations . -, • •.•/-^ 

faster and seven weeks m summer. It is dim- 
cult to make any more definite statements about Thursdays 
than those already made. On Sunday, however, the pupils are 
always free to do as they choose, at least for a part of the day, 
though in some of the schools the directors take occasion on 
Sunday morning to call the pupils together in general as- 
sembly to talk over the work of the school, to give good ad- 
vice, and as it were, to preach a kind of lay sermon. There is 
always opportunity for attending church. Although this cus- 
tom naturally varies in different parts of the country, the num- 
ber that attend regularly is so small as almost to be negli- 
gible. If their homes are not far away, the pupils usually 
find time on Sunday to visit their families. In Paris, all the 
pupils that do not live in the city are required to have cor- 
respondents there that shall stand in loco parentis, so that al- 
most all the pupils there leave the school on Sunday afternoon. 
Each one carries a small note-book with some report from 
the principal to the family. This must be signed by the par- 
ent or correspondent together with the time the boy leaves 
home to return to the school. He is required to be back 
again by nine ■ o'clock. In many of the schools, however, 
there is much more individual freedoin in some of these 
matters. 

One of the critical moments of the normal school course 
is the examen de passage, or annual examination. This is 

held toward the close of the school year in July, 

Examinations , , , , . ^ ., , 

and must be passed, in case of failure here, 
the pupil is usually compelled to withdraw from the school, 
but this happens comparatively seldom. Of course, allow- 
ances may be made in cases of sickness. I was much sur- 
prised to find one directress who said that of late years none 
of her pupils had been compelled to leave, for if a girl failed 
in her examination that was all the more reason for her being 
kept at the school, as she was almost sure to be taken into the 
schools in any case. This is perfectly true, because, as has al- 
ready been said, the supply of normal school graduates is not 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 1 87 

equal to the demand, and when this is exhausted the next re- 
source is the pupils that have spent some time at the schools. 
Occasionally one finds weekly examinations, but this is not 
general, for there is almost always a good deal of written 
work from day to day. On the whole, one may fairly say 
that the French pupils are not troubled by so many examin- 
ations in the regular school course as are our American chil- 
dren, but those that there are have far more serious conse- 
quences. Note well the phrase, " in the regular school course," 
for French life in general seems full of examinations; every 
advance from one round of the educational ladder to another 
is only possible upon passing an examination. All these ex- 
aminations, even the simple certiUcat d' etudes primuires are all 
given by the academic or the central authorities and never by 
the teachers that have had the pupils in charge. In fact from 
the point of view of numbers, several teachers have not in- 
aptly likened the present conditions to the examination sys- 
tem in China. 



CHAPTER X 
The Normal Schools (3) 
the curriculum 
The present ^ program in force in the normal schools is 

^ Radical changes are now being made in the normal school course, 'but 
inasmuch as these will not become fully efifective for two years, it does 
not seem advisable to incorporate them here. Suffice it to say that the 
modifications are a distinct advance, tending to professionalize the instruc- 
tion in the third year. This sequestration oi the work of the last year is 
still further emphasized by putting the examination for the brevet superieur 
at the end of the second year and demanding this as requisite for promo- 
tion to the senior class. These innovations will not be so noticeable in a 
school like that at Auteuil, for this on account of its situation in one oi 
the suburbs of Paris has always had unusual opportunities for giving a 
higher class of instruction than was possible in the country normal schools. 

The following extract from an official letter of instructions from the 
Minister to the rectors with reference to the changes in the program will 
indicate the general scope of the modifications : 

" These documents constitute a reform that our most progressive teachers 
have long been demanding. It has been our ambition and our aim to re- 
duce the number of hours of class work and to increase the number of 
those devoted to study and reflection ; to banish every method that does not 
give play to the active faculties of the mind, to multiply the points of con- 
tact with real life, especially in instruction in the sciences ; to eliminate 
from the programs, by a necessary sacrifice, the non-essentials which en- 
cumber them, and to make room for such subjects and such notions as 
will best prepare our teachers for their mission. It has seemed to us that 
the essential function of the normal schools consists less in preparing for 
the higher diploma than in giving the students a particular sort of culture 
in order to fit them for becoming the future teachers of the democracy. 
After an experience, followed with success for several years and gradually 
extended to some twenty schools, it has been demonstrated that two years, 
especially with the programs modified and cut down as they have been, are 
enough to prepare for the brevet superieur, and that the third year, freed 
from the constant worry over an examination that is bound to be of seri- 
ous moment to the student, ought to be devoted exclusively, in the first 
188 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 



189 



that decreed in 1887, although the differences between that 
and the one of six years before have already been indicated. 
It is important to note that this is absolutely the same for all 
the schools of France, whether they are providing almost 
exclusively for the urban schools as in the larg- 
est cities or chiefly for the country communities Uniform 
as in most of the smaller schools. In some 
places certain subjects are more emphasized than others, and 
the quality of the Avork varies with the teachers and the pupils, 
but the schools all follow the same program. The defence 
for this extreme uniformity always is that the normal schools 
must prepare teachers both for the city and the country, and 
it is impossible to foresee what the ultimate destination of any 
particular individual may be. 

place, to studies more general in their nature and more specifically social 
in their significance, that shall not be subject to an examination; and in 
the second place, to a deeper and more complete acquaintance with peda- 
gogical processes and methods in conjunction with an enlargement and an 
extension of the practical work. 

" So the programs of the third year, besides .providing for a rapid re- 
view of the great facts of human progress and establishing the sequence 
and the continuity of this progress, include for the boys : practical notions 
of common law, cosmography, a serious and scientific study of hygiene, 
and the principal applications of physics and chemistry to the local agri- 
cultural and industrial conditions ; and for the girls : instruction in prac- 
tical household economy, together with some notions of hygiene, the care 
of children, and the use of simple remedies. We believe that the schools 
s'hould never lose sight of apprenticeship for life as their lodestar ; should 
never forget that scientific progress, germinated in the laboratories of the 
higher education, so slow in developing and penetrating to the lower strata 
of the people, can have no more useful intermediaries, nor any more atten- 
tive interpreters for the common good than these young men and women, 
who have been leisurely trained in our normal schools under the plans and 
according to the directions laid down by the most eminent teachers of 
contemporary science." Bull. Adm., Oct. 14, 1905, LXXVIII, pp. 869-870. 



IQo PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

WEEKLY PROGRAM OF THE BOYS' NORMAL SCHOOLS.^ 

Subjects of Instruction. Year. 

Literary. I. II. III. 

Psyx:hology, morale, pedagogy 2 2 2 

French language and literature 5 4 4 

History and civic instruction 3 3 3 

Geography i i i 

Writing 2 i 

Modern languages 2 2 2* 

Total 15 13 12 

Scientiiic. 

Mathematics 3 4 4 

Physics and chemistry 2 2 3 

Natural science and hygiene i i i 

Drawing and modelling 4 4 4 

Theory of agriculture i i 

Total 10 12 13 

Manual training and agriculture 5 5 5 

Gymnastics and military drill 3 3 3 

Singing and music 2 2 2 

Total 10 ID 10 

Total nuni'ber of hours per week 35 35 35 

*The conseil suptrieur decided that besides these two hours of class work there should be, 
another hour, taken either from the study periods or from the free time in each year 
devoted to practice in conversation. 

Taking this as a basis, each director is free to make up his 
daily schedule as he chooses. Here, however, as in all the 
schools, the more difficult subjects are as far as possible as- 
signed to the morning periods.^ 

One of the first things that strikes the reader here is the 
great number of different subjects, the consequently small num- 
ber of times per week that each occurs and the total number of 
hours per week scheduled. This gives an average per day of 

1 Arrete, Jan. 10. 1889, Annexe A, Gr. VI, p. 135. 

' In order to give a more exact idea of this division of time, the daily 
program of the boys' school at Auteuil (Paris) will be found in Appendix 
C (3). P- 270. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS lOI 

seven hours in class, without reckoning the time spent in studv 
outside. Of coin-se, all these are not prepared recitations, but 
they all represent class work. It can readily be seen that the 
position of the French normal school student is no sinecure, 
and perhaps we may overlook his lack of interest in any regu- 
lar form of athletics and the absence of real social life that 
prevails almost everywhere. The programs are undoubtedly 
much overcharged, and the remarkable thing about it all is 
that the pupils seem to endure the strain of this exacting life. 
One cannot help thinking that it might be economy to study 
some of the subjects more intensively for a shorter period, and 
then, if necessary, just before the final examinations to spend 
a little time in review. Tlie pupils could even divide the 
examinations for the brevet superieur and take it in two suc- 
cessive years. Unfortunately, however, the present system 
of examinations in France requires every candidate practically 
to prepare himself at each examination in every subject that 
he has ever studied. 

A comparison of the subjoined program with that just 
above will show that in the girls' schools, the literary part of 

the program is exactly the same as that pre- 

•/ , r , ,, Vvi 1, r 1 Girls' Schools 

scribed for the boys. 1 ne allotment of hours 

in the scientific subjects is materially changed in everything 
except in drawing, and here the subject matter is distinctly 
modified. The manual work naturally turns to subjects more 
in accord with what we commonly think of as woman's work 
— dressmaking, sewing, and domestic economy. It also in- 
cludes kitchen gardening, and a very little attention is devoted 
to domestic science and home decoration. 



ig2 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

WEEKLY PROGRAM OF THE GIRLS' NORMAL SCHOOLS.^ 

Subjects of Instruction. Year. 

Literary. I. II. III. 

Psychology, morale, pedagogy 2 2 2 

French language and literature 5 4 4 

History and civic instruction 3 3 3 

Geography i i i 

Writing 2 i 

Modern languages 2 2 2* 

Total 15 13 12 

Scientific. 

Mathematics 2 2 2 

Physics I I 

Chemistry i I 

Natural science and hygiene i i I 

Domestic economy i 

Drawing 444 

Total 7 9 10 

Sewing and dressmaking 3 2 2 

Housekeeping and gardening 2 2 2 

Gymnastics 2 2 2 

Singing and music 2 2 2 

Total 988 

Total number of hours per week 31 30 30 

• The conseil supirieur has decided that besides these two hours another hour shall be 
devoted exclusively to conversation. 

The instruction in all the normal schools that I saw is cul- 
tural in its general method, but strictly professional in regard 
to the subjects treated. Its chief object seems 
Character ^^ j^g j-q render the pupils well informed on the 
I dt topics that they are to teach rather than to give 

them any specific instructions as to how these 
should be taught. Of course the pupils get much valuable 
experience and numerous suggestions from their work in the 
practice school, but in the ordinary classes in the normal 
school proper, one practically never hears any reference to 
teaching younger pupils. In all the scores of classes that I 
^ Arrete, Jan. 10, 1889, Annexe B, Gr. VI, p. 136. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 193 

visited, I found less than half a dozen exceptions to this state- 
ment. One result of this is that the work takes the form of 
lectures far oftener than that of recitations, though at the 
beginning of almost every class there is a brief period devoted 
to a review of the last lesson. Some subjects like mathematics 
and geography obviously do not readily admit of this lecture 
treatment. These demand recitation work, but even then 
only a few pupils are called up at each recitation, and these are 
questioned very exhaustively. I have heard classes of this 
kind, and by no means infrequently, where three or four 
pupils would occupy the whole period. The rest of the class 
sat quietly in their seats either listening in a desultory fash- 
ion, or studying as the case might be. It is comparatively 
rare to find a teacher that makes any attempt to induce active, 
lively attention on the part of every member of his class. 
Nevertheless, the pupils all keep up their work, rather, however, 
by virtue of their own individual effort than by anything they 
learn in general recitation. It is worthy of note that even here 
in the normal scliools, absolutely no lesson is assigned or any 
work given out without its being thoroughly explained be- 
forehand by the teacher. 

In all the courses, text4)ooks are used very sparingly, the 
teachers presenting the work to the pupils at one lesson, and 

the pupils reproducing it the next time. This 

, . r 1 , ■ , 1 • , • Text-books 

lack of text-books certamly has its good pomts, 

but when pushed to extremes it results in a great waste of 
time. Granted that our schools in general rely too much on 
the text-book, the French schools as a whole seem to have 
run to the other extreme, and by the confession of some of 
the teachers themselves this is partly due to financial reasons. 
It is also very rare to find the pupils encouraged to go outside 
the exact limits of the prescribed wofk and tO' do any inde- 
pendent reading that may throw additional light on the sub- 
ject in question. Tliis is especially noticeable in the work in 
history, which usually leaves much to be desired. 

One general criticism may be passed upon all the work of 
the normal schools as well as all the other schools of France, 



194 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



as far as my observation extends — the teachers do too much 
talking. The pupils have little or no opportunity for any self- 
expression, and the instructors in general make few efforts 
to draw out their pupils. Indeed, the art of questioning 
is not one of the French teachers' strong points. Tliere is 
one striking exception to this general lack of individuality, 
and that is in the work in drawing. It is almost uniformly 
excellent, and especially in the girls' schools is strongly in- 
dividual and original. 

Psychology, morale, and pedagogy, especially the second, 

are considered the most important subjects of the curricukmi, 

and the director himself is required to teach 

Psychology 

all three. Each occupies two hours a week for 
one year, in the order named, thus allowing the director to 
come in personal contact with every pupil in the school through- 
out the entire course. The psychology is chiefly what may be 
called static psychology, the dynamic aspects of genetic or ex- 
perimental psychology being entirely neglected. One of the 
teachers whom I questioned on the subject did not consider 
any student capable of beginning experimental psychology un- 
til he was thoroughly familiar with the older aspects of the 
subject. It had never occurred to him that any progressive 
combination of the two was at all possible. However, each 
pupil during his work at the practice school, is required to 
make a careful study of some particular child in the class 
where he is teaching. This is the only thing that approaches 
any child study during the normal course. It is moreover, 
purely individual, and is not made the basis of any class work 
or general discussion, being chiefly a matter between the nor- 
mal pupil and the practice school teacher.^ 

Morale here for the first time reaches what we may rea- 
sonably call ethics. Running all through this work we find 

constant reference to the evils of intemperance. 

Indeed the crusade against alcoholism is one of 
tb.e unnamed subjects of instruction in the French schools, 

1 This question is considered more at length in the discussion on the 
Practice Schools, ch. xi. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS I^c 

and the lessons in morale all through the school life furnish 
a particularly favorable opportunity for these efforts. This 
must not be understood, however, as an attempt to preach 
total abstinence. In the girls' schools this ethical instruction 
turns also toward the special responsibilities of woman as 
teacher, wife and mother. All the work whether for boys or 
for girls occupies a distinctly higher plane than morale in 
the lower schools. 

There is no subject of the curriculum that is any more diffi- 
cult to describe readily than is the work in pedagogy, for al- 
though all the schools follow the same pro- 

1 • -11 r ^ Pedagogy 

gram, it is almost impossible to find any two 

that agree. This is all due to the interpretation of the phrases : 
" Principal pedagogues and their doctrines. Analysis of their 
most important works." At best the work is all very hasty, 
for the whole subject is allotted only two hours a week during 
the third year of the course. Besides, the first trimester is 
devoted to a review of the work in psychology and ethics of 
the first and second years, and sometimes must also be re- 
served for a few^ simple notions about political economy. The 
result is that pedagogy proper receives but comparatively little 
consideration. One finds directors, however, that, convinced 
of the inadequacy of the program allowance for the subject, 
manage somehow to gain a httle more time for it. 

In only one of the schools that I visited did I find any at- 
tempt to study the history of education at all consecutively, 
and here the director naturally used Com- 

payre's admirable book. The ordinary work ^\^^°'^^. ° 
. . . Education 

consists simply in selecting a few well known 
pedagogical authors and considering them briefly. The pupils 
generally make no study of the writer for themselves, but 
take the appreciation of him given by the teacher. In fact, the 
time at their disposal is sufficient for nothing more than an 
eclectic method of procedure like this. The French educa- 
tional writers, Rabelais, Montaigne, Rousseau and Fenelon, 
especially the three latter, are found almost everywhere, and 
Spencer holds his own with these. Comenius is touclied 



IC)6 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

upon, but Herbart and Froebel comparatively rarely. In one 
boys' school in the south of France, I was much surprised to 
find that Channing and Horace Mann, the former of course 
in ethics, were two of the three writers that occupied the 
greater part of the time in the director's classes. Some of the 
teachers take the position that they can find all the great fun- 
damental ideas of the past in the writers of the nineteenth 
century and they prefer to seek these doctrines in their modern 
aspects. 

The instruction in French includes : ( i ) memory work and 
lecture expliqiiee. This latter consists in reading a certain 

amount of text and then giving; a kind of run- 
French . ... , , . "^ , 

nmg criticism and explanation of peculiar or 

unusual words, phrases or expressions. It is a method of lan- 
guage study that is very common in France, and work of 
this sort figrires in all the examinations connected with the 
public school system, from the simple elementary school certi- 
ficate up to the examination for the direction of a normal 
school and the primary inspectorship. (2) Technical gram- 
mar, (3) compositions, and in the last year (4) literary his- 
tory also make up the program^ Five hours per week in the 
first year and four hours in each of the other two are assigned 
for all these subjects. There is no stated amount tO' be com- 
mitted to memory, and this naturally varies widely with the 
school, but it is all froin the best of the national classics. On 
the whole, the work in the native tongue is one of the best 
and most practically taught of all the subjects of the normal 
school curriculum. 

Although in all their daily work the pupils are called up 
before the class for their recitations, they have little oppor- 
tunity for really addressing an audience. At 
Student Lvon, however, there is a noteworthy excep- 

Lectures - ' ' . , • , , 

tion to this. Every boy m the third year has 

to prepare two lectures, which may be illustrated if he chooses, 

one in the field of letters and the other in science.^ These 

1 At Valence, each pupil of the third year class is required to give one 
public lecture. These lectures take place at the school, and the townsfolk 
are invited. Oftentimes they have audiences of one hundred and fifty 
j.ieople. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 



197 



are delivered before all the pupils of the school and are criti- 
cized by the teachers. M. Mironneau, the director, began this 
practice some years before at Privas, a small place of some 
six thousand inhabitants and the chief town of a department. 
He took the members of his third year class out to some of 
the neighboring communes, the village people forming the 
audiences. The second attempt showed such notable im- 
provement, that afterwards some of the lectures were given in 
Privas itself. In following this method, at the end of the 
year each pupil will have twO' lectures, and these may be in- 
creased many fold by changing with his fellows. An impor- 
tant consideration, however, is thait they should all be in very 
simple languag-e and adapted to the comprehension of the 
popular mind. The whole scheme is most valuable, for these 
same teachers are likely to g-o out intO' small places where the 
best social life is very limited, and lectures of this kind will 
serve to create a lively interest in the schools themselves and 
ultimately tend to raise the standard of the intellectual life of 
the community. The Musee Pedagogique in Paris, by means 
of the lantern slides which it sends gratuitously to teachers all 
over France, encourages still further the extension of this 
efficient means of stimulating popular culture. 

Tlie history in the normal course follows a distinctly chron- 
ological order, and well it may, for the pupils have by this 
time been studying the history of their own 

^ , T • History 

country for upwards of ten years, it occupies 
three hours per week throughout the entire course. The first 
trimester is devoted to ancient history and Greece, the second 
to Rome, and the third to the Middle Ages up to the Hundred 
Years' War. The work of the next two years (the first up 
t© the French Revolution and the second until the present) 
treats France almost exclusively and seldom- digresses except 
to consider events that are more or less closely connected with 
the national history. The history of no other modern nation 
is studied consecutively, the justification of course being that 
it is not concerned with the elementary school subjects which 
the pupils will be required to teach. The last trimester of the 
course treats briefly the civil organization of France. 



igS PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

At the end of the program for the first year's work we find 

these words : " The historical notions about the Orient, Greece 

^ . and Rome shall put less emphasis on the facts, 

Subject Matter , , , . , , ,. , 

the wars, the dynasties, the establishment or 

the dismemberment of empires, than on the customs, the ideas^ 

the monuments, the great works of the people of antiquity, 

and on the part which they have played in the development of 

civilization." So far as I am able to judge from the various 

lessons in this subject I have seen not only in the normal 

schools, but also in the schools of other grades, the suggestions 

given here are by no means followed. Unfortunately, the 

work generally savours too much of what John Fiske calls 

the " drum and trumpet history." I never heard more than 

one or two recitations where the teacher seemed to have an 

adequate idea of the true meaning of history and historical 

study. This statement may seem rather strong in view of 

the numerous names of really great French historians not only 

of the past, but also of contemporary life that immediately rush 

into one's mind, but it must be remembered that these men 

are the products of secondary and not of primary education. 

The teachers themselves complain that their pupils are not 
strong in history, but they certainly encourage this weakness 
by dictating- so many summaries of lectures or important move- 
ments instead of requiring the pupils to organize and arrange 
their own material. One of the teachers claimed that this 
weakness was due to a national characteristic. " The French 
people," he said, " are not a reflecting nation. They have a 
certain animation and vivacity, but they do not spend very 
much time in calm reflection; hence they find history so diffi- 
cult." On the contrary, it must be acknowledged that when 
the pupils leave the normal schools, they certainly know the 
facts of their country's history with an exactness that is 
certainly noteworthy. 

Geography is assigned one hour a week throughout the eii- 

tire course. The first year, the work includes a study of 

geographical phenomena in general, and treats 

eograp y specifically all the world except Europe; the 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS log 

second year all Europe except France; and the third year, 
France and her colonies. This whole plan is almost univer- 
sally criticized and is certainly very poorly balanced, for the 
first year's work is very much overcrowded. About half this 
is devoted to general physical geography, and this leaves only 
a few more than twenty lessons for the western hemisphere, 
Asia, Africa and Oceanica. In some schools, the two Ameri- 
cas are finished in four lessons, the same time that is devoted 
to Africa. Tliese are divided thus : one lesson on the physical 
and one on the political and commercial geography of North 
America; one lesson each on South America, and on Mexico 
and Central America together. Oftentimes the situation is not 
so bad as this, but surely the commercial and industrial im- 
portance of the United States would seem to merit rather more 
than two lessons in a normal school course that occupies up- 
wards of one hundred and twenty hours' work and extends 
over a period of three years. 

The prime consideration that is never neglected is that the 
geography should treat France first and last, even though at 
times this is reduced to a mere dry catalogue of departments, 
cities, population, rivers, mountains, or statistics in general. 
Tlie pupils know the name at least O'f every nook and corner 
of their own country. Fortunately most of the work is better 
than one recitation I happened to see on North America. Here 
on the map drawn on the board by a pupil and corrected by 
the teacher, the Hudson and the Connecticut rivers both ran 
east, and Long Island extended north and south, while New 
York, Baltimore and Philadelphia were situated in that order. 
Indeed, except for the presence oif these cities the map might 
readily have been mistaken for the drawing of some sixteenth 
century navigator. However, in general, map ^, _ 

^ ^ , , ^ ., . J Map Drawing 

drawmg is really one of the most strikmg and 
the strongest features of all the geography work. The ac- 
curacy and rapidity with which the pupils dash off a map of 
France or Europe, marking carefully all the configurations of 
the coast and indicating numerous cities, bays and capes is 
really remarkable. 



200 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

One of the most interesting and novel lessons in geography 

that it was my good fortune to see was at Auteuil. Here a 

boy in the entering class had been very much 
An Unusual •. ,j- i- i ^-.-r 

Lesson interested m readmg the account of Nansen s 

voyages. Encouraged by the professor, he 
prepared the work with great care, had one of his classmates 
draw a map illustrating the trip of the Swedish explorer and 
his companions, and then lectured to his class on the sttbject. 
The boy sat at the teacher's desk, was perfectly self-possessed, 
told his story simply and directly and illustrated it from time 
to time with well chosen extracts from the book itself. The 
whole affair was really most creditable, and it is tO'O bad that 
such things could not be encouraged more, at least outside the 
regular class work. 

The term modern language usually means English or Ger- 
man, though sometimes it includes Italian and Spanish, and in 
the normal schools of Algeria even Arabic and 

J ° ^ "■ Kabyle. The preponderance of the Engflish, 
Languages . . js 

however, will readily be seen from the follow- 
ing table compiled from the Year-^book of Public Instruction : ^ 



No. of Schools' 


Modern Language 


English 


German 


Spanish 


Italian 


84 
82 


Normal Schools 
Boys 
Girls 


44 
61 


29 

15 


9 

5 


5 
3 


166 


Total 


105 


44 


14 


8 



(The apparent discrepancy in figures here is due to the fact 
that in two of the boys' schools and in one of the girls' both 
English and Spanish are taught, and the two schools in Paris 
offer the pupils a choice between Enghsh and German.) 

The program arranges for two hours' instruction per week 
throughout the course and requires that a third hour be taken 

1 Delalain, Annuaire de V Instruction pubHque, 1903. 

2 The four schools in Algeria do not appear in this table. Thej all teach 
Arabic. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 20I 

from the study periods and spent in conversa- 

T r ,1 • 1 > 1 1 1 ■ , • 1 English Tutors 

tion. in some of the girls schools this third 

hour is in charge of an English repetitrice, a kind of tutor, 
usually a former training college pupil that has gone to France 
to perfect herself in the French language with a view to teach- 
ing it in her own countiy. It is expressly understood that 
this young woman shall speak nothing but English to the girls 
in the normal school. In return the teachers speak French to 
her. The employment of these repetitrkcs is an endeavor to 
give the normal school pupils as much of an English environ- 
ment as possible, and this is particularly advisable because the 
modern language teachers are all native born French. At one 
time, foreigners were frequently employed for this language 
work, but they were apparently unable to understand the 
French temperament, and the discipline was very unsatisfac- 
tory. Since i886, at least, the law has restricted this in- 
struction to French people. 

Under the existing regulations, then, the present composi- 
tion of the modern language teaching force leaves little to 
be desired. So-me of these teachers come from 
the ranks of secondary education, others, es- , ^!!^^ ^\ ° 

-^ the ieachers 

pecially teachers of Eng'lish. are descendants 
of the people whose language they teach, still others have come 
up through a regular line of schools, but almost invariably 
they have spent at least one year abroad. The last is not so 
generally true of the teachers of German, but many of these 
are recruited from the lost provinces or from those parts of the 
country where the two languages are used almost indiscrim- 
inately. In any case the great majority by yearly trips to 
England or Germany seek to keep the languages of these 
countries fresh in mind. Indeed the teachers that I had the 
g^ood fortune to meet spoke with a readiness and a purity of 
accent that was really striking. Except in one or two re- 
markable instances they were naturally handicapped slightly 
by a lack of vocabulary and, what is much more important still, 
by the inability to appreciate the English point of view. Na- 
tional life and racial characteristics are so strong, however, 



202 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

that comparatively few individuals ever became able fully to 
understand another people than their own, and success in this 
respect is won only after long years of study and residence 
abroad. Many teachers in France to-day fully apj)reciate 
these facts, but in view of the early experiences, recogTiize that 
the present conditions must continue, and so try to make 
them yield the best possible results. 

Within the last few years, the new direct method has made 
considerable progress. This is primarily a conversational 

method, as a former Minister of Public In- 
D4rect Method . , ^ , , , . ^ . 

struction denned the chief ami of modern lan- 
guage teaching as " to learn to speak and to write." ^ Al- 
though this refers specifically to secondary education, it never- 
theless represents the aim of all modern language work to-day. 
The secondary school teachers that also had classes in the nor- 
mal and higher primary departments naturally carried this 
new idea over into these latter schools, and some of the more 
progressive of the primary teachers were glad to get away 
from former conditions and found the transition acceptable to 
their inspectors. The result has been that in spite of the fact 
that the official program remains unchanged (although two re- 
visoiy commissions appointed in November and December, 
1900 " have not yet reported), modern language instruction 
in the best of the primary schools may fairly be said to be 
dominated by the direct method idea. Instead of having the 
pupils learn certain arbitrary lists of words and making these 
the basis of written work, the teacher uses a picture as a text 
and talks about the various objects presented there, or con- 
verses with the pupils on the common things of every day life. 
The object is to conduct the class entirely in the foreign lan- 
guage without employing French even for explanations. In 
fact. I found one enthusiastic teacher who during the entire 

1 Le3'gues, Circ, Nov. 15. 1901 ; Bull. Adm., LXX, p. 896. 

2 Commission appointed to revise the scientific programs in the ecoles 
normales primaircs. Arrete, Nov. 24, 1900; Bull. Adm., LXVIII, p. 918. 

Ibid, for literary programs. Arrete. Dec. 6, 1900; Bull. Adm., LXVIII, 
p. 1 107. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 203 

first year not only did not speak a single word of French nor 
use any English text-book, but she did not even allow the 
pupils to keep note-books. The new system strives to make 
language study more alive and to avoid much of the merely 
formal work that is certainly very stupefying. Perhaps, how- 
ever, it is only the movement oi the pendulum and in seeking 
to avoid one evil it has swung to the other extreme, for all 
this conversational work consumes an undue amount of time. 

After all this stress is put upon conversation, comparatively 
little time is left for reading, and aside fromi some extremely 
simple collections of Mother Goose calibre, this 
is chiefly restricted to the special text-book re- 
quired for the brevet superieur, a compilation .of easy prose 
and verse. Tlie English requirements include selections from 
Aiken and Barbauld's Evenings at Home, Miss Corner's 
Every Child's History of England, Wordsworth's Michael, 
and a few of Longfellow's better known short poems, the 
whole book being about one hundred and seventy-five pages. 
The German text-book is somewhat smaller, but in respect 
to the poetry, at least, contains a much better selection of rep- 
resentative classic literature. The prose is entirely taken from 
Hoffmann, and the poems from Goethe, Schiller and Heine. 

This same method is being carried down into the higher 
primary schools, with the idea of rendering the pupils there 
better fitted for taking places as interpreters or 
foreign correspondence clerks in the great busi- I" ^'""^ Higher 
ness houses. In the absence of definite statis- ^ ' 7 

Schools 

tics, it is difficult to state exactly how many 
pupils this affects, but of the 61,686 children that went out 
from these schools during the years 1889-1898, only 14,033 
entered commercial life and another 3,243 entered the teach- 
ing profession.^ Of course the majority of these never had 
occasion to use their modern language after leaving school, 
and ten per cent of the whole number of graduates is a suffi- 
ciently liberal estimate to cover them all beyond the peradven- 

1 Organisation ct Situation de I'Enseignemcnt Primairc. chart to face p. 
408. 



204 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

ture of a doubt. These ten per cent, then, fix the aim of the 
modern language instruction and the method to be followed for 
all the other ninety per cent. Surely not a very good record 
for the democratic ideas of France. 

The sponsors of this direct method, whether in the higher 

primary or the normal schools, believe that their pupils will be 

much better fitted to make their way in a for- 

Criticism . , ■ r i ' , , • 

eign country; but even if these expectations 
were well founded, the number so benefited would be very 
small. After visiting- many classes and talking not only with 
teachers but with pupils as well, it is perfectly evident that 
after three years' work of this nature the pupils will not be 
able to carry on an ordinary conversation. In fact, I saw one 
class that had studied English for five years, two years under 
the old method and three under the new, and at the end of all 
that time not only was the pronunciation of the pupils very 
poor, but they could not understand the very simple English ex- 
pressions that I used in addressing them. It is still practically 
necessary for these modern language pupils to go to a foreign 
country if they wish to attain any facility in the language. 
Tlie opportunities for real conversation are too transitory and 
infrequent to produce any satisfactory results. Meanwhile, 
much time has been sacrificed that might otherwise have been 
devoted to reading, and after all it is only wide reading that 
gives the large vocabulary so absolutely indispensable to 
thorough knowledge of a language. During the first few 
weeks in the foreign country, the bright pupil that has fol- 
lowed this new method carefully will undoubtedly have an 
immense advantage over the one that has read widely, has a 
reasonable acquaintance with the grammatical principles, and 
has become a little accustomed to the sound of the language in 
the class room, but at the end O'f six months or a year, there 
is not much doubt as to which one would be the more advanced. 
This is by no means an argument against the direct method on 
general principles, for under certain conditions it is the only 
method to be employed; but in a school where the foreign 
language has only three hours a week, and where all the rest 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 



205 



of the time is spent in an environment entirely at variance with 
this new Iang^ag"e, the mother tongiie should not be banished 
from the class room with impunity nor the direct method 
used fanatically. 

Formerly the modern languages were taught exactly as the 
Latin or Greek, and it is safe to say that the present methods 
are an improvement over the old, but a compromise between 
the two would probably produce still better results. I should 
be very sorry if this adverse criticism, which, be it distinctly 
understood, is entirely one of method and concerns neither the 
teaching force nor the place of modern languages in the pro- 
gram, should ever furnish an argument for minimizing the im- 
portance of this instruction in the normal schools. The mod- 
ern languages stand to-day as almost the only purely cultural 
subject of the curriculum, and the intellectual horizon of the 
future primary school teachers could ill afford tO' undergoi any 
contraction in this respect. As soon as the French primary 
schools rise above the industrial and commercial influence that 
is dominating them to-day. the aim of modern language in- 
struction will nO' longer be confined tO' the present utilitarian 
limits, but these subjects will appear in their truer and nobler 
aspects, as a means of entering to a certain extent intO' the 
life and ideals of contemporary peoples and so of furnishing 
their pupils with a larger perspective, a broader culture and a 
more sympathetic and tolerant spirit. 

The mathematical subjects include arithmetic and the metric 

system, algebra, book-keeping, geometry and trigonometry. 

Arithmetic is allotted two hours per week dur- ,^ , 

. Mathematics 

ing the first year and one durmg the second. 

Algebra has one hour a week during this same year, and, ex- 
cept for a little time it has to divide with book-keqDing, two 
hours in the third. The time allotted for arithmetic naturally 
permits the teacher to devote more attention to theory than to 
the actual operations. Algebra, on the other hand, treats the 
theoretical part as hastily as possible and lays much stress upon 
the practical applications, the progressions, and interest and 
annuities. Geometry is allowed one hour a week the first 



2o6 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

year and two hours for each of the other two years. It in- 
cludes both plane and solid geometry, trigfonometry, and par- 
ticular attention is paid to surveying and topography. The 
instruction in mathematics, especially in geometry is almost 
universally of a very high order. Utility may fairly be said 
to characterize the Avork as a whole. In trigonometry, for 
example, goniometry as such is practically ignored, and all 
the attention is devoted to the solution of triangles. In fact, 
trigonometry is merely a tool to be used in surveying. This 
latter is all of the practical sort, for the teacher O'ften takes 
advantage of the free period on Tliursday to lead his pupils out 
into the fields and give them real problems to 'solve. 

In the girls' schools, the mathematics is of considerably less 
importance. It receives only two hours per week throughout 
the course, and is confined almost exclusively 
Schools ^*^ simple arithmetic, the work in geometry in 

the third year being little more than mere men- 
suration. Although the program provides for no instruction 
in algebra, I found a little very elementary work in that sub- 
ject at Batignolles. the girls' normal school in Paris. Here, 
too, the work in mathematics receives an extra hour in both 
the second and third years. Although they may never de- 
scend below the requirements of the ojfficial regulations, the 
Paris schools are often allowed to augment their work in some 
minor details like this. 

The instruction in science is certainly very broad, but it has 
the virtue of at least introducing the pupils to the more im- 
portant subjects and of giving them the funda- 
mental notions on which each is based. Here 
again the practical idea is everywhere predominant, for it is 
not only acquaintance with general scienjtiiic facts that is de- 
sired, but also the bearing of these facts on everyday life. It 
is the fauna and the flora of the immediate neighborhood that 
are of particular importance; knowledge of how these, for 
example, can be of service in the work in agriculture in gen- 
eral, and to the farmers of the district in particular. Two 
liours for each of the first two years, and three hours for the 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 207 

third, are about equally divided between physics and chemis- 
try; botany has one hour a week the first year; zoology the 
same amount the second year; while geology and hygiene 
divide one hour a week throughout the third year. Unfor- 
tunately the ideas about ventilation and the necessity of fresh 
air taught in the hygiene class are not generally put in prac- 
tice, at least during the winter months, for the air of the or- 
dinary French class room of whatever grade is almost invari- 
ably bad. 

Tlie course in hygiene lays much stress on the dangers from 
alcoholism. In consequence of the report of the commission 
to investigate the subject in 1895,^ ^^ot only the 
program of the normal schools, but also the Campaign 
currictila of all the schools of primary and ^j , j^, 
secondar}^ instruction as well were modified " 
so as to provide for more determined efforts to strengthen the 
crusade against this evil. Although the subject is extensively 
treated in the course on hygiene, it also appears in ethics un- 
der the guise of temperance in general, and domestic and so- 
cial duties; in zoology, under the anatomy and physiology of 
man ; in chemistry under the alcohols ; and in political economy 
under the production, the circulation and the uses of wealth. 
In fact, in order to encourage the consumption of beer and or- 
dinary wine at the expense of alcohol itself, these former are 
among the few food products that pay no octroi at the gates 
of Paris. 

Although the subject matter O'f the science courses is so gen- 
erally practical, experimental work on the pupils' part has made 
little headway. The second and third year 
classes are required to spend some time in ^^^^u^^ 
manipulation, but this is chiefly confined to the 
strictly literal interpretation of the word and is restricted to 
familiarizing the pupils with the construction and use of the 
simple apparatus that may be adapted to the work in the lower 
schools. Indeed with one or two exceptions, notably in the 
boys' school at Lyon, the laboratory facilities are not such as 

1 Gr. VI, pp. 646-652. - Bull. Adm.. 1897. LXI, p. 392. 



2o8 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

to encourage anything much more extensive than this. At 
Auteuil, there is an extra hour per week throughout the entire 
course especially given to this laboratory Avork. Half the 
class is taken each time, the first half year being devoted to 
chemistry and the last half to physics. 

The subjects in the course in physics are: gravity, hydro- 
statics and acoustics; heat and light; electricity and mechanics. 
Chemistry treats the metalloids, the metals, and in the third 
year devotes itself exclusively to organic chemistry. All the 
experiments are carefully performed by the teacher before the 
class, who can see the phenomena for themselves, but the ex- 
perimental work practically stops there. On the whole, the 
work in science is carried on with no other text-book than the 
lecture notes which the pupils take themselves from the lips 
of the teacher. 

In practically every school, one finds adequate and well 

selected collections for the teaching of natural history and 

geology. The only criticism that might be 

Natura niade upon these is that they are usually hidden 

Science 

away in the professor's private laboratory or 
in some remote and dusty corner of the building where they are 
almost inaccessible to the pupils. Thus the majority of them 
see only the few specimens that the teacher brings into the 
class room. 

Tlie schools that I saw almost invariably had fine botanical 
gardens in connection with their vegetable gardens, and they 
were all marvels of neatness and thrift. In 
^"^ most of the departments, the departmental pro- 

fessor of agriculture gives the agricultural instruction at the 
normal school. Tlie theoretical work occupies forty lessons 
during the second and third years, and treats not only plant 
life, but also the farm animals and rural economy. 

Special attention is devoted to the agricultural interests of 

that particular section of the country. The 

Influence practical part of preparing the soil, sowing, 

on t e grafting and pruning is all given in the school 

garden. There is no idea, however, of turning 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 209 

out skilled farmers, but rather of providing the necessary train- 
ing for teaching the work in agriculture required by the ele- 
mentary school program. Often, however, these students can 
carry their knowledge into the rural communities and thus be- 
come effective missionaries for disseminating the latest ideas 
on scientific farming, such, for example, as the more intelli- 
gent use of fertilizers and the rotation of crops. This work has 
all assumed a new aspect during the last six or eight years, 
for it is hoped that sufficient interest in agricultural pursuits 
may be aroused to check the urban movement of the population 
that France in common with most of the other great coun- 
tries has lately been viewing with increasing uneasiness. 

In the girls' schools, the science instruction is considerably 
reduced. Instead of the seven hours of the boys' course, we 
now find only four, equally divided between the 
second and third years. The physics program " 

• 1 . , r ^ Schools 

of the second year is rather varied, formmg a 
kind of general introduction to the subjects of the third year 
— heat, light, electricity and magnetism. The chemistry 
course follows the same plan, the second year forming a gen- 
eral introduction and attempting tO' cover very hurriedly the 
more important metalloids and metals. The third year's work 
treats organic chemistry very superficially. The manipulation 
is taken even less seriously than in the boys' schools, and in 
the school where I found a satisfactory laboratory equipment 
the directress said that little work of that sort was done. The 
geology program of the boys' schools is cut down very slightly, 
botany and zoology remaining unchanged. 

There is, however, one hour a week in the third year devoted 
to domestic economy. This by no means attempts the work 
of our domestic science coiirses, but merely in- 
troduces the girls in a very general way to the omestic 

° -^ ° "^ Economy 

work of the household, care of the home, wash- 
ing, ironing, and the preparation of food. In fact the cuisine 
everywhere in France is so very superior, and the mothers 
take such pains to teach their daughters, that ordinary instruc- 
tion in cooking has no reason to exist. In some of the schools. 



2IO PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

the washing is all done outside the building, and the girls are 

required to do their own ironing. In another school, the 

pupils of the third year class, in groups of ten or a dozen, one 

group being chosen each week, take entire charge of making 

ready their own dinner. This includes the preparation of the 

food, as well as setting the table, but it can be readily seen that 

one hour a week for a year will not allow a very elaborate 

treatment of the subject of domestic economy. 

Except the French languag-e and literature, no subject in the 

whole curriculum receives more attention than drawing, for 

it occupies four hours per week throughout the 

Drawing . ,.,,,,, ^ , , 

entire course and mcludes both the free hand 

and the mechanical aspect. This latter is almost invariably 
taught by one of the science professors, while the former is 
often in charge of a special teacher. The free hand work is 
developed very logically from point to line, from line to angle, 
and from angle to figure, each of these different bases form- 
ing the motif, and the pupils being left free tO' develop the 
particular design according to their individual tastes. The 
union of the mechanical drawing and the manual training un- 
der a single teacher gives almost unlimited opportunity for 
correlation, and it is generally taken advantage of, for all the 
constructions in \\ood or iron are worked out from carefully 
prepared sketches, while absolute accuracy both in sketch and 
in execution is rigidly required. In the girls' schools, me- 
chanical drawing as such is almost entirely neglected, the pupils 
merely learning the use of the simpler drawing instruments. 
The work there is practically all freehand and is accompanied 
by .considerable purely decorative woadc. In the higher pri- 
mary schools, this aspect is developed even more extensively, 
and often reaches to practical designing for the textile in- 
dustry prominent in that particular section of the country. It 
is always closely allied to the sewing and the needle work. 
The teachers of this free hand drawing both at the boys' and 
girls' schools are often real artists and not mere drawing teach- 
ers. In fact, it is by nO' means uncommon to find former pupils 
of the Ecolc des Beaux- Arts at Paris engaged in this work. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 



211 



The results everywhere justify the efifort that is expended 
upon the drawing, for of all the subjects of the French pro- 
gram, this work is not only the hest taught, but the skill of 
the pupils as a whole is remarkable. The teachers, however, 
agree that thlis great progress dates from the Exposition of 
1889 and is mainly due to the increased interest in manufactur- 
ing and commercial affairs since that time. 

Manual training and farm work together are assigned five 
hours per week each year. The three devoted to manual 
training proper are divided among paper fold- 
ing and card-board work, both finished in the 3^^""^^ 
first year, wood work, iron work and modeling. 
Although this last subject receives a good deal of space in the 
official program, in few of the schools did I find the actual 
work of corresponding importance. In fact, in some it is 
neglected almost entirely. With rare exceptions, all the 
manual work is decidedly formal, no attempt being made to 
construct useful objects. From this point of view, it lays 
itself open to severe criticism. The wood work aims to ac- 
custom the pupils to the use of the simpler tools used in join- 
ing and turning. The iron work devotes a little time the first 
year tO' bent iron work, and during the other two years in- 
cludes welding, joining, turning and brazing. The forging 
varies greatly in different places, but under the mo'St favorable 
conditions it requires so much time that the schools can hardly 
be censured for slighting it. 

The lack of motive power for the turning both in wood and 
iron is a serious handicap, and what is still more surprising, 

the teachers dO' not seem to- feel any serious in- 
Motive Power 
convenience on that account. When ques- 
tioned on the subject, they invariably reply, " The pupils will 
not find any motive power in the schools where they are going 
and so why introduce it here?" Yet it is quite common in 
turning, especially in iron, tO' find one boy providing the motive 
power for the lathe while another is busy with the actual work. 
In none of the six boys' normal schools that I visited was there 
any power, and in fact I have seen only two schools in France 



212 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

where there was any to be found, the ecole normalc primaire 
siipcricurc at Saint-Cloud and the ecole primaire superienre 
Frankhn at Lille. In spite of these difficulties, the shop work 
is all well executed, and the pupils become ver}^ skilful in the 
use of their tools. Reference has already been made to the 
advantage of having the drawing and the manual training 
taught by the same person. This union is productive of ex- 
cellent results, and the relationship between these two sub- 
jects is one O'f the few instances of direct 'correlation in the 
whole program. This is even more strikingly apparent in the 
girls' schools. 

The manual work in the girls' schools is entirely devoted to 
sewing. This includes preliminary work in weaving and 

• . braiding, knitting, crocheting, plain and fancy 
Sewing . , , . , -, . , 

stitches, pattern work, cuttmg out and rinisn- 

ing women's and children's undergarments and outside 
clothes. One of the most important things is the reparation 
of their own clothes by the pupils. During the last two years, 
they have some opportunity to use a sewing machine. In the 
third year the sewing assumes a more decorative character, and 
the pupils are required to- work out patterns they have de- 
signed in the drawing class. In one higher primary school, 
the girls were making some beautiful underclothing, all trim- 
ming, insertion and edging having been previously designed 
in this way. All had the same motif, a flower, a spray of 
leaves or some conventional form, and each pupil had worked 
out the particular pattern according to her individual taste. 
For cutting patterns and for much of the dressmaking work 
in general, a kind of canvas is much used on account of its 
cheapness. Some teachers, however, very properly object to 
work of this kind on account of its formal nature. 

The instruction in music demands two hours per week 

throughout the course. It consists sometimes of both vocal 

and instrumental work, though the latter is by 

no means general. At Lyon, we find each 

pupil required to devote an hour and a half per week to the 

violin. He may spend more, but at all events he is respon- 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 213 

sible for the results. The teacher there comes in from out- 
side, as is generally the case with all instrumental music. 
Singing, however, is almost invariably taught by one of the 
regular teachers, for it is very rare not to find in each school 
one of the staff that holds a certificate for teaching music. 
This adds two hundred francs a year to the salary the teacher 
would ordinarily receive. Besides a considerable amount of 
chorus work, the pupils are still further trained in sight read- 
ing and musical dictation. On leaving the school they are all 
able tO' read readily any simple music of the sort that they are 
likely to encounter in their school work. The most proficient 
of them usually carry oii their studies still further until they 
obtain the special certificate referred to above. 

The program for gymnastics, three hours a week, includes 
military drill and target practice, besides the ordinary gymnas- 
tic work. Apparently none of the normal 

, 1 , T • • 1 1 • r 1 Gymnastics 

schools that 1 visited took any notice of the two 

former, and I found but one school — an ccole primaire su- 
perieure in Paris — where there was any practice in shooting.^ 
Here it is more in the nature of recreation, for in the shooting 
range in the basement each boy fires six shots three times each 
year. The weapon used is a smallbore target rifle with the 
breech mechanism of an old army rifle now long since dis- 
carded. At another higher primary school where there was 
some pretence at military drill, it required the services of a 
v.'orkman three or four hours a day tO' keep the guns in good 
condition, and as the director said, they were so very differ- 
ent from the arms in use in the army to-day, that the time 
spent in teaching the boys to handle them was wasted. 

At one school where the gymnastic work represents a typical 
organization of the better sort, the exercises were divided into 
four groups: ordinary calisthenics; something ^ , . 

^ ^ ■' . , Subject Matter 

approaching single stick work, though without 
opponents; boxing; and gymnasium work proper with both 
light and heavy apparatus. The " single stick " consists in 
a combination of thrusts and blows at an imaginary opponent 
1 They expect soon to have a shooting range at Auteuil. 



214 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



performed in concert at the word of command, the value of the 
exercise being still further enhanced by varying the position of 
the body as well as the direction of the stroke. The instru- 
ments were very simple and were evidently rods that the boys 
had cut for themselves on some excursions to the woods. In 
boxing they naturally follow the French system which brings 
into play the feet as well as the fists. It was entirely an ex- 
ercise, however, and not a sport, for the w^ork was all done 
in class and no one was pitted against another. On account 
of the foot work employed here, and the change of position, 
the movements admit of great variation, and they bring into 
action a large number of the muscles of the body. It is an 
easy matter for the boys to prepare for their gymnastic lesson, 
for they simply remove coat, waistcoat and suspenders, fasten 
a belt about the waist, and everything is ready. When the 
weather permits, the class is conducted in the open air, other- 
wise in the gymnasium. 

The French gymnasium is entirely different from anything 
we have in America. Sometimes it occupies a separate build- 
ing of its own, but it is often a part of the main 
^ building with one side open to the air and looks 

very much like the carriage shed attached to some New Eng- 
land farm-house. In every case, inside it is a large barn-like 
structure, perhaps thirty by sixty feet, with cement walls and 
a floor of soft, mealy loam. This latter does away with any 
necessity for mats. The apparatus is not abundant, a pair of 
parallel bars, a horizontal bar, parallel flying rings, vertical 
parallel bars, a rope ladder, a smooth and a knotted rope for 
climbing, a dorsal ladder, ordinary ladders in various posi- 
tions, and sometimes a few Indian clubs, dumb-bells and wands 
alo'Ug the walls. The light apparatus, the horizontal and the 
parallel bars, however, are the most frequently used. The 
dress is the same as for the light gymnastics in the open air. 
The apparatus is all of very simple construction, the dumb- 
bells being always of iron and often very heavy, varying from 
three to twenty pounds in weight. 

The gymnasiums in the girls' schools, while theoretically 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 21 5 

boasting a somewhat similar equipment, almost invariably 
wear the dusty garb of neglect. This apparent condition is 
verified by the statements of the directresses, for walking and 
dancing are the chief forms of exercise in these schools.* 
Reference has already been made tO' the inadequacy of the bath- 
ing arrangements. In no^ case did I find them in connection 
with the g}^mnasium ; in fact, there seems tO' be no' idea of the 
relation existing between these two. The exercise in France 
does not partake of the violent character that one finds in 
America, for the pupils go through the various evolutions as 
calmly and deliberately as they follow the work in mathematics 
and ostensibly without any healthy, spontaneous interest in 
the exercise for its own sake. The idea of individual effort 
solely with a view to becoming stronger and healthier and 
better is a rare incentive for the normal school pupil; he is 
never found in the gymnasium except at the prescribed hours, 
nor, in fact, could he go^ there if he chose, for the door is 
ordinarily kept lo'cked, ^nd the key rests in the pocket O'f the 
gymnasium instructor. 

The instruction in gymnastics, however, in the boys' schools 
is very practical from the point of view of the future teacher, 
for each pupil has frequent opportunity for conducting the 
class. At the end of the second year, the pupils usually present 
themselves for the special certificate for teaching gymnastics. 
This examination consists of two- parts, an oral examination 
on the sciences closely connected with gymnastic work, and a 
practical test wherein the candidate has to demonstrate his abil- 
ity tc perform the movements required by the official manual. 
This examination is not over difficult, for the candidates are 
generally successful. 

Before taking the regular entrance examinations for the nor- 
mal schools, each candidate has to submit to a physical ex- 
amination conducted independently by two 
physicians, who afterwards meet and compare g^aj^^n^^t^ns 
notes. This is required in order that the State 

1 At the girls' school at Batignolles, Paris, the official program is fol- 
lowed carefully and with apparently good results. The girls of the second 
year class here wore regular gymnasium suits, the only ones I saw. 



2i6 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

may make sure that the candidate is at least physically able to 
render adequate return for the expense of his education. Al- 
though the use of eyeglasses is not necessarily fatal, any seri- 
ous optical defect would naturally cause rejection. Once 
safely through this examination, the pupils are seldom troubled 
again. At Auteuil, however, they have recently introduced the 
practice of testing the boys physically every three months. 
Tliis examination is very superficial, for it measures merely 
lung capacity, strength of the right grip and standing height. 
If the first of these shows any marked deterioration, the boy 
is immediately turned over to the regular physician for further 
examination. 

This question of physical condition is coming more and 
more intO' prominence in France through the Minister o'f War. 
In some departments, it is found difficult tO' recruit young men 
that satisfy the army standards, and the military and the edu- 
cational departments are actively striving to- discover the 
real causes for this and the corrective measures to- be applied. 

The subject matter of the normal schools thus briefly 

treated, lays the foundation, at least, for a liberal culture. 

It is perhaps too extensive tO' be very intensive, 

General |3^^j- j-]n^ pupils have been introduced tO' the fun- 

A^npf*!"^ of 

o r- damental facts and experiences of the various 

the Course ^ 

Studies, and these ideas have been thoroughly 
instilled into their minds. If too little emphasis has been laid 
upon the hoiu a particular subject should be taught in the ele- 
mentary school, the pupil has reviewed carefully what he 
must teach and has gone enough farther to give him a thorough 
understanding of much of the underlying theory. With the 
exception of the modern language, he has spent his time on 
nothing that he cannot apply directly to his future work in the 
class room. The course is particularly strong in the literary, 
scientific and aesthetic aspects of human interest, but weak in 
developing those characteristics that make for individuality, 
leadership and social efficiency. 



CHAPTER XI 

The Normal Schools (4) 

the practice schools and the teaching certificates 

The practice schools in connection with the normal schools 

are of two' general types : ccolc annexe, when the school is 

under the immediate control of the director of 

Types 
the normal school and forms an integral part of 

the institution itself; ecole d' application, when an ordinary- 
school in the community is specially designated by the Minister 
as a practice school. Of all the practice schools in France, less 
than a score of them to-day are found in this second category, 
although each form has its supporters. The ccole annexe be- 
ing more directly under the supervision oi the director of the 
normal school, and the head of the practice school being con- 
sidered as one of the teaching staff of the training school, this 
condition permits a closer alliance between the twos and enables 
the normal pupils to keep in closer touch with their practice 
field. 

The criticism that the ccolc annexe is too small to give the 
future teachers any real practice does not in itself seem well- 
founded, for in the smaller classes the young teacher can de- 
vote his attention chiefly to the subject matter of the recitation 
and need spend comparatively little effort on maintaining dis- 
cipline, but for this little he himself is alone responsible. As 
for the ecoles d' application, they are ordinarily typical enough 
as far as numbers are concerned, but the continual presence 
of the regular teacher in the class room renders the position 
of the raw recruit somewhat artificial, for the disciplinary 
problem practically does not present itself under these condi- 
tions. The ecole d' application has one peculiar advantage in 

217 



2i8 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

that the pupil teacher is always working under direct super- 
vision, whereas in the ordinary ecole annexe this is not the 
case, for it reproduces the actual conditions of the country 
school only too vividly, and the singie teacher often to be 
found there has to apportion his time among the three cours 
divided between two rooms. The two' ecoles annexes at Pads 
are the only ones that I found where each room had its own 
permanent teacher. Although the regulations ^ have long 
required each girls' normal school to have an ecole nmternelle 
in addition to its ordinary practice schoo'l, at the present time 
less than three fifths have complied with this demand," but in 
a few others the want is partially supplied by classes enfantines. 
All these practice schools are organized to represent as far 
as possible the conditions actually existing in the lower schools. 

^ . For this reason, in Paris the two schools are 

Organization , . , , 

accurate but naturally somewhat ideal repro- 
ductions of the average city schoo^l, with each of the three 
cours divided into two classes. In the country normal 
schools, on the other hand, the norm for the ecole annexe has 
but a single teacher, though this number is often increased to 
two in the more important towns; but in any case the work 
will invariably be arranged so that in at least one room there 
will be more than one cours. In all the practice schools I 
visited outside the metropolis, the number of children there 
corresponded very closely with the number of pupils in the 
normal school. Of course it need not be said that the instruc- 
tors here are generally o'f the best, for they are almost normal 
teachers themselves and are certainly in a position to be of 
immense practical assistance tO' the young teachers. 

Although the director of each school follows his own ideas 

1 Dccret, July 31, 1900, Art. i. Gr. VI, p. 288. 

2 Annuairc dc I'lnstrnction Puhiique, 1903. 

The actual figures were : 

Number schools with ecole matcrnelle, annexe, or d' application 47 

Number schools without ecole maternelle, annexe, or d'application 32 

Number schools with ciasse enfantine 5 

84 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 219 

as to the minor details of this practice work, the total amount 
is a fairly constant quantity — in all about thirty 
days. At Batignolles, Paris, for example, Practice 
where the observation and the practice work are 
not quite so extensive, each pupil has nine tours ox stages in 
the ecole annexe. This practice school is very large, contain- 
ing nearly five hundred children and includes 

„ . , , , Tj r 1 At Batignolles 

a well organized ecole maternclle 01 three 
classes. Tlie first year pupils never spend more than half a 
day at a time at the practice school, whereas in the second and 
third years, one whole day each tour is entirely devoted to the 
ecole annexe. During the greater part of the time that the 
normal pupil is in the class roo-m, she merely watches the gen- 
eral conduct of the lessons, assisting the regular teacher from 
time to time in the distribution of material as occasion arises. 
Thus observation work pure and simple occupies a much more 
important place as far as time is concerned than the actual 
teaching. The number of lessons given by the normal girls 
and the department of the ecole annexe where these take place 
will appear in the following table : 



Year I I. II. III. 



Lessons) ist tour. I i E. P. E. \ 2 Ec. Mat. ! 2 E. P. E 

E. P. E. 2 Ec. Mat 

itire session, ' Entire sess: 

Ec. Mat. '' Ec. Mat. 



per \ 2d tour. 1 2 E. P. E. | 2 E. P. E. 2 Ec. Mat. 

day. J 3d tour. I 2 E. P. E. ! Entire session, ' Entire session, 



E. P. E. elementary school. 
Ec. Mat. Scole maternelle. 



From this it will be seen that five of the tours are in the 
primary school proper and four are in the ecole maternelle. 
The general tendency also is to begin well up in the primary 
grades and to work down toward the yoiingest children. The 
pupil is never entirely freed from the work in the normal 
school, and whatever she misses, except manual work, draw- 
ing and outside written work, she is regularly responsible for. 

At Auteuil, Paris, however, quite a different system is em- 



220 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



At Auteuil 



ployed. Here instead of the practice teaching continuing- 
practically throughout the course, it is all com- 
pleted between Easter of the first year and 
Easter of the third. This has the great advantage of allowing 
the new pupils to become somewhat acclimated to the normal 
school life and discipline, and furthermore the pupils of the 
third year are relieved from the responsibility of the practice 
work during the last few months of their course when they are 
working under the shadow of the approaching examinations. 
Each pupil teacher is assigned to the ccolc annexe for one week 
at a time, but he spends there only half of each day, either 
morning or afternoon. The work is so arranged that each 
of the six classes of the practice school always has a normal 
pupil, either as observer or as teacher. There is this further 
difference between Auteuil and Batignolles, that at the former 
each pupil teaches only one lesson each half day in the class 
where he happens to be. Here again, then, observation work 
plays a predominant part. 

The actual division of the work will be readily apparent 
from the subjoined diagram : ^ 









Before Easter 




After Easter 


Cours supSrieur. 
Cours tnoyen. 
Coiirs Hhnentaire . 


I St division . 
2d division 
I St division 
2d division 
1st division • 
2d division . 


f 
\ 


2 pupils of III yr. 
2 " of III " 
2 " of II " 

2 " of II " 
2 " of II " 
2 " of III " 


2 
2 

2 

2 
2 


pupils of II yr. 
" of II " 

" of I " 
" of I " 
" of I " 
" of II " 


Totals 


6 pupils of III yr. 
6 " of II " 


6 

6 


pupils of II yr. 
" of I " 



Under this arrangement, each pupil spends a week in the 
practice school about once in six weeks, so that this gives a 
total of sixty half days and sixty lessons actually taught by 
each one. These are so divided that every subject of the ele- 
mentary school curriculum receives its proportionate attention. 
On being assigned to a certain class in the practice school, 
^ Organisation et Situation de I'Enseignement Primaire, p. 456. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 221 

the pupil is directly responsible for interviewing the class 

teacher and finding- out exactly what the class 

is doing in order that he may take up the new Relations with 

work with the least possible disturbance tO' the 2f " "^ 
'^ . 1 eacher 

pupils. As has been said before, he is ex- 
pected to teach one lesson each half day. Before doing this 
he prepares a written plan of the lesson which he submits to the 
class teacher and talks over with him the day before. What- 
ever modificatio^ns the latter may suggest are naturally incor- 
porated in the lesson on the morrow. AH this is written in 
a special note-book so' that at the end of the pupil's course 
there is a permanent record of all his lesson plans together 
with the modifications of the critic teachers, w'ho^ are of course 
the regular teachers in the practice school. After the day's 
work is over, the critic teacher meets the pupil teacher in order 
to discuss the lesson of the day, as well as to look over and 
criticize the new plan for the following day. The pupil 
teacher is constantly under the supervision of the class teacher 
in all his work, even during the recreation periods, for at 
these times he mingles with the children on the playground and 
endeavors to help in or tO' modify their games. 

The sum total of the critic's appreciation of the normal 
pupil's work for the week is made the subject of a special re- 
port. Here, then, is a second permanent record of each pupil's 
ability. Besides his regular observation and practice work, 
the student is assigned a boy by the class teacher whom he is 
expected to study psychologically both in class and out, in 
recitation time or on the playground. The result of this 
study is embodied in a written paper which is submitted di- 
rectly to the class teacher, appreciated by him and filed away 
for future reference. The pupil's note-ibook of lesson plans 
and criticisms forms quite a valuable document at the end of 
the course, for he can read his successes and his failures and 
profit by his past experiences when he goes out into a school 
of his own. 

At Lyon, a new method was first put into practice in 1903, 
embodving certain peculiar advantages for the ordinary rural 



222 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

normal school which has to prepare teachers for 
Graduated the country schools. Under this arrangement, 
ry , . the pupil is introduced to the work in the prac- 

tice school by regular stages. In this ecole 
annexe, there is a regular cours elemcntairc, which includes a 
classe preparatoire, and a cours moyen of a single division. 
The third year pupil has entire charge of the former cours, 
but he has a pupil of the first year to help him with the classe 
preparatoire in an adjoining room. This latter, however, sim- 
ply plays the part oi monitor and follows the direction o-f his 
older comrade. The pupil of the second year is in charge of 
the cours moyen with its single division. This forms, then, a 
graduated apprenticeship : first, monitor, then teacher with a 
single class, and finally the responsibility not only of teaching 
one class, but also of planning the work for another. 

In this school also, each pupil teacher receives a carefully 
prepared outline which he is to keep in mind while making 
the psychological study of the child assigned to him. Another 
unique feature employed here is a rapport personnel, a kind of 
introspective statement made by the student at the end of each 
tour wherein he notes the particular difficulties of one sort or 
another that he encountered in any phase of his work and the 
means he employed in solving them. These records like all 
the others are preserved in the special note-book used in the 
practice school, and here too the pupil copies each report on 
his work that the teachers present to the director of the normal 
school. Tlius this note-book contains not only the lesson 
plans, duly criticized and corrected, the remarks of the critic 
teachers and the directors, but also a kind oi diary kept by the 
pupil himself. Even this last is made a subject of comment 
by the director.^ 

One of the most important features oi the training school 
course is the so-called model lesson. This is not quite a model 
lesson in our sense of the word, but rather a peculiar form of 

1 Cf. Appendix J for sample pages taken from a student's note-book 
showing form of criticism followed by critic teacher, outline for psycholog- 
ical study, and plan for this rapport personnel. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 223 

practice teaching, for it is almost invariably 

given by one of the pupils. In one school I Model 

...... Lessons 

Visited this is actually taught about half the 

time by the director of the normal school and so becomes a 
model lesson dc facto, but this practice here was due to some- 
what unusual conditions. In this school, as sometimes hap- 
pens in the smaller normal schools, the model lesson was 
taught before all three classes, but at the larger institutions 
this is manifestly impracticable and it is limited to the mem- 
bers of the third year class. The pupils are invariably one 
of the classes oi the practice school, and the work presented 
is merely a part of their regular lessons. 

At Auteuil, for example, there are twenty tO' twenty-five 
lessons each year taught to the six classes of the ecole annexe 

in succession. Thursday mornings, when both 

j_i i- 1111 11, At Auteuil 

the practice school and the normal school are 

free from ordinary duties, are chosen for this work. On a 
given week the pupils from one of the classes in the practice 
school are required to come to school at the usual time on 
Thursday. Two of the normal boys have previously been 
assigned to prepare a lesson in a given subject to teach to that 
particular class. Naturally they must have conferred with 
the class teacher in order to ascertain exactly what the chil- 
dren have been doing recently, so that the course of their 
regular lessons may be disturbed as little as possible. Be- 
sides, too, these two pupils have previously submitted their 
lesson plans to the class teacher for his criticism and sugges- 
tions. On the appointed day, the pupils of the practice school 
occupy their usual places while around the room are grouped 
the third year class of the normal school. In addition to the 
regular critic teacher, the directors of the normal school and 
the practice school, and the professor in charge of that subject 
at the normal school are also present. Just before the lesson 
is to begin the two pupils that have prepared the lesson draw 
lots. One of them actually teaches the lesson, while the other 
acts as chief critic. 

At the conclusion of the lesson that I had the pleasure of 



224 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

hearing, the pupils of the ecolc annexe were dismissed, and 
the chief critic began his criticism, with the 
CHtks director of the normal school as presiding offi- 

cer. This pupil was naturally in a much better 
position to judge the work than his other classmates, for he 
had already prepared the same lesson with the idea of teach- 
ing it. The unfortunate teacher was given every opportunity 
to defend himself and his method, and occasionally had the 
satisfaction of turning the tables on his critic. The criticism 
became general, and each normal pupil was invited and en- 
couraged to take part in the discussion. 

After the pupils had exhausted their stock of ideas on the 
subject, the professor at the normal school took up the dis- 
cussion and improved the opportunity to give 
eac er niany good suggestions on the special method 
in geography, for that was the subject of the 
lesson. The directors of the two schools as well as the class 
teacher expressed their opinions on the teaching as a whole, 
and on the attitude of the pupil teacher. All the criticisms 
were remarkably intelligent and well-pointed. In fact the 
whole exercise could not fail to be oi the greatest value 
not only to the pupils chosen to prepare the lesson, but also 
to the other members of the normal class, for the criticisms 
all came from men of large pedagogical knowledge and wide 
experience. At the end, the teachers held a brief session to 
discuss privately certain characteristics of the pupil teacher and 
the lesson that could not be done before the pupils. 

Some similarly arranged model lessons, though necessarily 
with local modifications are to be found at nearly all the nor- 
mal schools, in spite of the fact that the direc- 

At Batignolles . 111, 1 1 1 • 1 

tress 01 one school told me she had given them 
up some time ago because she did not feel that the effort was 
productive of good results. At Batignolles, for instance, four 
pupils are appointed to prepare each lesson. Just before the 
recitation, these draw lots; one is chosen to^ teach the class, 
and the other three to watch particular points about the work, 
such as the general disposition of the class, the discipline and 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 225 

the method of the recitation. The idea of having several 
pupils prepare the model lesson is partly due to the fact that 
in the large schools there is not time for each pupil to give one 
of these lessons, but by this arrangement every one goes 
through all the (preliminary work, at least. It goes without 
saying, that the real value of these exercises is in a large meas- 
ure dependent on the character of the critics. 

At present, all the older normal school teachers have had 
considerable practical experience in the elementary schools, but 
during the last twenty years since the estab- 
lishment of the higher normal schools at Fon- Future 
tenay-aux-Roses and Saint-Cloud, these two 
schools have been sending out to fill the vacancies in the ordi- 
nary normal schools from ithirty-five to forty teachers every 
year, and the greater part of these, especially the women, with 
little or no experience in actual teaching. Tliese twO' great 
schools are doing much valuable work in providing the cul- 
tural food of the future normal school teachers, but they are 
doing almost nothing on the practical side. Fontenay-aux- 
Roses demands oi each pupil about two weeks of practice 
teaching, but no amount of work of this nature will take the 
place of a few years' service in actual struggle with the real 
problems of school teaching and administration. 

No one but a teacher is fitted to become a teacher of teach- 
ers. The worth of these two higher schools would be con- 
siderably increased if five years in elementary school work 
were demanded of all their pupils either before entering the 
school or immediately after graduation. As a matter of 
fact, the majority of the candidates for Saint-Cloud have al- 
ready been primary school teachers, but the authorities make 
no special effort to increase the number. Even under the 
present conditions these young and inexperienced normal pro- 
fessors might improve their practical value by using the ecole 
annexe as a laboratory for experimental work on their own 
account. Indeed, it is not a bad idea for an old normal teacher 
to get back into active work occasionally. It is a good anti- 
dote for professional fossilization. 



226 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

Tlie chief difficulty with the practice teaching in all the nor- 
mal schools in France as almost everywhere else, is to find 
time for enough of this work. M. Bayet, the former Directoir 
of Primary Education thus signalizes this want : " In our 
normal schools, we should . . . strengthen still more the profes- 
sional apprenticeship ; in a word, we should strive first of all to 
produce educators." ^ When one contends that the amount 
of practical work is insufficient, he is immediately confronted 
with the statement that after all, the normal schools do not 
pretend to send out experienced teachers but merely to give 
their students a broad intellectual foundation upon which they 
may build. It is further pointed out that they cannot become 
full fledged teachers until, after two years' experience, they 
gain the ccrtiUcat d'aptitiidc pedagogique. While this is the 
natural method of procedure, and each candidate must be at 
least twenty years of age," inasmuch as boys may count all 
the time spent at the normal school after eighteen and girls 
after seventeen as a part of their stage, it sometimes happens 
that the nonnal pupils gain this certificate immediately after 
leaving the normal school. In fact, some of the heads of the 
schools are in favor of spending the first two years of the 
course in direct preparation for the brevet siiperieur ^ and de- 
voting the last year almost exclusively to work leading to the 
certiUcat. In some respects this would be rather unfortunate, 
for the latter would then be, for the normal students at least 
and so for about two thirds of the teaching force, a mere 
academic diploma rather than a certificate of professional 
ability. 

The two brevets are very closely related to the work of the 

teacher and the normal school, for the brevet elemaitaire is 

absolutely required of every teacher in the ele- 

ip omas ^^gj^|.^j.y schools and is a sine qua non for all 

candidates presenting themselves for the entrance examinations 

1 Bayet, Rapport a M. le Ministrc de I'Instruction Publique, 1900, p. xiv. 
^ Decret, June 3, 1902; Bull. Adm., LXXI, p. 865. 

3 This is one of the provisions of the reform in the normal school course 
of August 4, 1905. Cf. infra; also supra, p. 188, note. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 227 

to the normal schools, while the brevet superieur, until 1906 
practically the final examination for the normal course, will 
henceforth be taken at the end of the second year in the 
school and be based upo-n the work O'f the first two years of 
the normal school. The candidates for these two brevets 
must be respectively sixteen and eighteen years old on October 
first of the year in which t'hey present themselves,^ although 
the age requirement for the first may be waived in the case 
of all holders of the higher primary certificate. Furthermore 
the possession of the elementary is demanded of all candi- 
dates for the higher diploma. These examinations are held 
twice each year before commissions of at least seven members 
who are appointed by the rector, and presided over by the 
academy inspector. 

The commission " for the elementary diploma must include 
two primary inspectors, a present or past teacher in private 
schools, a regular teacher in a normal or a higher primary 
school, and two teachers in the public primary schools. For 
the higher diploma, the commission must include a primary 
inspector, the director or the directress of the normal school, 
two regular teachers in a normal or a higher primary school 
(one representing the arts and one the sciences) and a public 
school teacher who holds the higher diploma. The other 
members are chosen from the present or past representatives 
of the public educational service, primary, secondary or higher. 

The examination questions for the brevet elementaire are 
divided into three series : ^ 

I. (i) About a page of dictation. Several 
questions tending to show whether or not the Elementary 
pupil has grasped the idea in this extract;* (one '^ "^ 

half hour allowed for rereading and for answering questions) ; 

1 Decret, Jan. 15, 1894, Art. 107, Gr. VI, p. 541. 

^ Decrct, Aug. 4, 1905; Bull. Adrn.. LXXVIII, pp. 515-516. To take 
effect in 1906. 

^Arrets, Jan. 18. 1887, Arts. 145-149. as subsequently modified by the 
arretes of Jan. 20, 1897, and Dec. 9, 1901, Gr. V, pp. 801-802; VI, pp. 747- 
748; Bull. Adm.. LXX, pp. 997-998. 

* These questions are an important modification introduced about four 
years ago. Arrete, Dec. 9, 1901 ; Bull. Adm., LXX, p. 997. 



228 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

(2) French composition (two hours) ; 

(3) An arithmetical question on the metric system and a prob- 
lem to be solved and analysed (two hours). 

II. (i) Writing examination, including three different styles 
of letters, corresponding roughly to our Spencerian, vertical, and 
the so-called natural form. The first of these appears in three 
different sizes of letters (three quarters of an hour) ; 

(2) Free hand drawing from some simple object in common 
use — ^plan, cross section, and elevation for the boys, and outline 
for the girls (one and one half hours in the former case and 
one hour in the latter) ; 

(3) Elementary gymnastics from the lower school program 
for the boys (ten minutes), and needle work for the girls (one 
hour). 

III. Oral examinations (not more than ten minutes on each 
of the following groups) : 

(i) Reading and explanation of text; 

(2) Questions in arithmetic and the metric system; 

(3) Questions on the elements of national history and civics, 
also on the geography of France with blackboard map drawing ,-^^ 

(4) Questions and elementary exercises in solfeggio; 

(5) Questions on the most elementary notions of physics, 
chemistry, natural science, and for the boys, on the principles of 
agricultural instruction. 

Eac'h of these groups of examinations is marked on a scale 
of twenty, except the g}^mnastics of the second series and the 
music of the third, where ten is the maximum. The candi- 
date must receive at least half the maximum mark in each 
series in order to be admitted to the next, 'but zero in any 
subject means exclusion. In practice the examination ex- 
tends over a period of three days. Even then this entails an 
enormous amount of work on the examiners, for each paper 
must be passed on by at least two readers. Tlie work is much 
facilitated by the small number of questions in each subject. 
This is possible because the applicants have all followed the 
same program and there are not, as with us, a number of 
different standards to satisfy. The number of failures in the 
second and third series is comparatively small, being under 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 



229 



ten per cent of the total number of candidates, or less than one 
fifth of all those rejected. • In these examinations of the last 
few years, the girls have succeeded rather better than the boys. 
The folloAving table shows the results of the two examinations 
held each year for the years 1899-1904.^ 

'Elementary Diploma. — Per cent of Successful Candidates. 

1899. 1900. 1901. 190a. 1903. 1904. 



Boys. 
Girls. 



ISt. 


2d. 


ISt. 


2d. 


ISt. 


2d. 


ISt. 


2d. 


ISt. 


2d. 


ISt. 


51 
60 


49 
48 


54 

55 


46 

S2, 


56 
59 


50 
54 


54 
58 


50 
48 


54 
53 


43 
42 


52 
53 



41 

47 



The questions iov all the subjects of the first and second 
series are chosen by the academy inspector, sent by him under 
seal to the chairman of the examination board 
and opened by the latter in the presence of the Marking 
candidates, but the character of the oral ex- 
aminatio'U naturally depends upon the individuality of the 
examiners. The board sitting in committee of the whole de- 
termines the scale of marking in the various subjects, and de- 
cides upon what shall constitute " an error." This is a wise 
provision for it enables the committee to lapply some correct- 
ive measures if, as sometimes happens, the academy inspect- 
or's questbions are found to be over severe. In spite of oc- 
casional assertions to the contrary, these examinations are 
absolutely fairly administered, for in the 
written part the pupil writes his name on one 
corner of the paper, folds it over and seals it. 
This seal is in no case broken until after the 
paper has been read and marked. For the oral questions, the 
examination board breaks up into commissions of two or more 
members each and these divide the various subjects among 
them. This not only relieves the strain on the examiner but 
also tends to minimize the personal equation, for every mark 
is thus made up from the combined judgment of at least two 
members. 

^Bull Adm., LXVIII, p. 1093; LXXII, p. 1164; LXXVI, p. 1004. 



Examination 

Fairly- 
Administered 



230 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

Despite the fact that roughly speaking only about one half 
the candidates are successful, the examination does not seem 
very severe, especially when one remembers 
Importance tj^^t: the possession of the brei'et elenicntaire is 
Diploma ^^^^ minimum qualification demanded by the 
State for entering the teaching profession. It 
is only fair to add, however, that many of the departments are 
in a position to demand much more than this, but after read- 
ing some of the questions asked at these examinations one is 
satisfied that the statement that to-day practically every teacher 
in France holds this elementary diploma is not of so much im- 
portance after all.^ It sliould be a much prouder boast that 
between sixty and seventy per cent of the teachers entering the 
teaching profession each year have had a normal school 
training. 

The examination for the brevet snperieiir, until now prac- 
tically the leaving examination of the normal schools, will after 
1905 come at the end of the second year and be 
„.'f ^^ based upon the work of the first two years of 

Diploma ^ •' 

the school course. Students will be required 
to pass this examination as a basis of promotion to- the third 
class. It should be noted, however, that the normal teachers 
have nothing whatever to do' with setting the papers. These 
as well as those in all the other examinations oi the primary 
school system are under the direct control of the central au- 
thorities as represented by the academy inspector. Each can- 
didate for the higher diploma must be at least eighteen years 
of age. and must already hold the elementary diploma." These 
examinations are held twice yearly, the first near the close of 
the academic year, and the second not long after the re-entry in 
the fall, before commissions chosen under exactly the same 
conditions as those for the elementary diploma. A slight 
modification in favor of the candidates has only recently been 
introduced. By this each one may submit at the time of the 
examination his reports for the previous year signed by the 

1 For sample examination questions, see Appendix E. 
-Decret, Jan. 15, 1894, Art. 107, Gr. VI, p. 541. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 23 1 

head of the school in which he received his preparation. In 
case the pupil is slightly below the minimum standard in either 
part of the examination, a very good record here may help 
him through/ 

The examination - consists of two series, the first written 
and the second oral : ^ 

I. (i) A paper composed of two questions: the first on arith- 
metic (including for the boys only, geometry in its practical 
applications) ; the second on physics and natural science, with 
their common applications to hygiene, industry, agriculture and 
horticulture (four hours for the two parts) ; 

(2) French composition on a subject from literature or ethics 
(three 'hours) ; 

1 Arrete, Dec. 9, 1901, Art. 141 ; Bull. Adni., LXX, p. 996. 

2 Arrete, Jan. 18, 1887, Arts. 150-153, as modified by the arrctes of Jan. 
24, 1896, July 31, 1897, Dec. 9, 1901, and May 10, 1904, Gr. V, pp. 802-804; 
VI, pp. 677, 781-782; Bull. Adm., LXX, p. 996; LXXV, pp. 669-671. 

3 The new requirements for the examination, which may be followed or 
not at the candidate's option during 1906 and 1907, but become obligatory 
in 1908, modify the exis'ting program somewhat. The drawing is trans- 
ferred from the first part to the second. The mathematics for the boys in 
the first part consists of a practical problem in arithmetic or geometry and 
one theoretical question ; for the girls, a problem and a question on arith- 
metical theory. The changes in the second part of the examination are so 
general that it seems best to give them in full : 

I. Oral questions on 

(a) Psychology, ethics and their applications to education. 

(b) The essential facts of French history, and its relations with 

general history since 1492. 

(c) Geography of France, with map drawing on the blackboard, to- 

gether with the ifacts of general geography. 

(d) Arithmetic, oral and written, with algebra and geometry for the 

boys. 

(e) Physics, chemistry, and natural history, with their appHcations. 

II. Reading and explanation of a selection in French taken from a list of 
authors drawn up every three years by the Minister. Fifteen minutes are 
allowed for preparation. Grammatical questions. 

III. Reading aloud and rapid translation, after a quarter of an hour for 
preparation, of an easy selection from a modern language. Simple conver- 
sation in the foreign language on the text read. 

IV. Drawing from a model in relief (three hours). 

V. Examination in music : musical dictation, followed by simple theoret- 
ical questions on the text dictated. 

Arrete, Aug. 4, 1905; Bull. Adm., LXXVIII, pp. 518-519. 



232 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



(3) Drawing from a model in relief (three hours) ; 

(4) Modern languages ^ (English, German, Spanish, Italian 
or Arabic) ; written questions based upon the modem language 
programs of the normal schools ; written replies also in the for- 
eign language; use of the dictionary allowed (two hours) ; 

II. The oral examinations of this series are divided into seven 
groups : 

( 1 ) Morale and education ; 

(2) French, including the reading and explanation of some 
text taken from a list of authors decreed by the Minister every 
three years, ^ and questions on literary history of the authors of 
the last four centuries; 

(3) The most important characters and the essential facts of 
general history and the history of France, with special refer- 
ence to modern times : that is, since 1453 ; 

(4) The geography of France including map drawing, to- 
gether with general geographical principles ; 

(5) Arithmetic in its practical applications, book-keeping (and 
for the boys only, elementary principles of algebra, geometry, 
surveying and leveling) ; 

(6) Principles of physics, chemistry and natural history (and 
for J>oys only, agriculture and horticulture) ; 

■■"' (7) a- Reading aloud) with rapid translation, after a quarter 
of an hour for preparation, of an easy selection from the 
language chosen by the candidate (English, German, ItaHan, 
Spanish or Arabic). The first part of the examination, devoted 
chiefly to the pronunciation, accent, and readiness in reading, is 
marked on a scale of ten ; 

b. Simple conversation in the foreign language on the text 
read. The candidate is invited to summarize or to reproduce the 
substance of the passage. Grammar questions, together with 

1 This makes an advance over the regulations of January, 1887. for at 
that time the examination included only a short translation into French 
with the aid of a dictionary, and was allowed only half as much time. 
(Arrete, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 151, Gr. V, p. 803). At that date modern lan- 
guage study had only just been made obligatory in the normal schools. 
The conversation in the foreign language of both the first and the second 
part were added in 1904. Arrete, May 10, 1904; Bull. Adm., LXXV., pp. 
670-671. To take effect in 1905. 

2 The similarity between this method of procedure and that of our col- 
lege entrance examinations in English will readily be noticed. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 



This 



the interpretation of words and phrases found therein 
second part is likewise marked on a scale of ten. 

Each of these oral examinations is limited to fifteen minutes. 

The same general conditioiis as to marking, failure and 
admissibility to the second series prevail here as in the examina- 
tion for the elementary diploma, bult by a recent regulation/ 
a candidate that fails on the oral examination may try this part 
again at the next session without being obliged to repeat the 
first series. The whole examination continues at least three 
days, for the French and the science of the first series cannot 
both come the same day. 

The following table shows the results of the two examina- 
tions held each year for the years 1899- 1904: 

Higher Diploma. — Per cent of Successful Candidates ^^ 

1899. 1900. 1901. 1902. 1903. 1904. 





ist. 

68 
60 


2d. 

42 
43 


ist. 

68 
62 


2d. 

44 
46 


ist, 

73 
62 


2d. 

38 
42 


ist. 

74 
59 


2d. ist. 

42 69 
53 60 


2d. list. 

43 69 
46 1 61 


2d. 


Boys 

Girls 


49 
50 



The girls no longer maintain the general superiority that 
they showed in the examination for the elementary diploma. 
The figures for the first session each year are considerably 
higher than the corresponding ones of the second session. 
This shows conclusively what one might naturally expect — the 
superiority of the normal school pupils over the other candi- 
dates, for inasmuch as these former are obliged to present 
themselves for this examination, they are all found at the first 
session which comes toward the end of the school year. 

In its legal importance, the brevet siiperieur does not com- 
pare with either the elementary diploma which precedes or 
the certiiicat d'aptitude pedagogique which 
follows, these two being the minimum quali- 
fications for appointment, the former as 
stagiaire and the latter as titulaire. The only 

^Arrete, Dec. 9, 1901, Art. 150; Bull. Adm., LXX, p. 996. 
^Bull Adm.. LXVIII, p. 1093; LXXII, p. 1164; LXXVI. p. 1005. 



Importance of 

the Higher 

Diploma 



234 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



positions where the higher diploma is actually demanded ^ are 
as a minimum requirement for the principal of a primary school 
which has a cours complementairc attached, as well as for the 
ordinaiy teachers in tliis latter schooil and in the higher pri- 
maTy ischools.^ Nevertheiless in actual practice in most of the 
departments, it is possible for the academy inspector to insist 
on a higher standard for his primary school teachers than the 
elementary diploma, for he will naturally make his appoint- 
ments from the holders of the higher diploma if there are 
such. It would be a great step forward if this practical con- 
dition in many of the departments could only be made the ac- 
tual condition in all, and this higher diploma be made the 
minimum requirement for entering the teaching profession. A 
mere casual glance at the subject matter of the tvvo^ examina- 
tions will show what this would mean, for, while the 'Stand- 
ard of the elementar}^ examination is disappointingly low, the 
rang"e of the higher betokens an introduction at least tO' a 
liberal education. 

The examination for the ccrtificat d'aptitudc pcdagogiqiie, 

though less comprehensive than for the elementary and higher 

diplomas, is naturally far more important, for 

CcrhUcat |-}-^jg definitely determines whether or not the 

n /, " ^ sta^iaire can become a full-fledged teacher. 

Pedagogique "^ ^ 

All candidates must be at least twenty years of 
age, must hold the elementary diploma and must 'have had at 
least two years of practical teaching experience. Normal 
school pupils, however, may count for this last requirement the 
time spent at the normal schools after eighteen years of age.^ 
The examination commission, appointed by the rector and 
presided over by the academy inspector, consists of at least 
ten members. These are chosen from among the primary in- 
spectors, the directors and professors of the normal and higher 

1 Cf. the new regulation requiring this as the basis of promotion to the 
third class of the normal school. Decrct, Aug. 4, 1905, Art. 2; Bull. Adm., 
LXXVIII, p. 520. 

2 Decret, Jan. 18, 1887, Arts. 2,^-^2, Gr. V, p. 727. 
^ Decret, June 3, 1902; Bull. Adm., LXXI, p. 865. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 235 

primary schools, and the regular teachers of the department. 
The commission holds only one session a year, at a date, for 
the written examination, fixed by the academy inspector some- 
time in February. This takes place in the chef-lieu of each 
arrondissement under the direction of the primary inspector. 
The practical examination must take place some time before 
December first of the same year. 

The examination consists of three series: written, prac- 
tical, and oral.^ The written is an elementary discussion of 
some question pertaining to instruction or education (three 
hours). In the practical test the candidate teaches a class, 
preferably his own, for at least three hours. In the case of 
women teacliers, this takes place in either an ccole inatenieile 
or an ordinary girls' school, but this certificate obviously carries 
the title of titulaire only in the grade of school where the exam- 
ination is passed. The examining board in this case is a sub- 
commission designated by the academy inspector, and consist- 
ing of a primary inspector and two' other members. The oral 
examination for the candidates that have passed successfully 
the other two series takes place before the whole commission. 
There are two parts to this : first, in valuing the regular 
monthly note-ibooks; and second, in questions bearing directly 
on the work of the second part of the test or on practical peda- 
gogy (not more than twenty minutes for this whole third 
series). 

Each of these series is marked on a scale of twenty, and the 
candidate must receive at least ten in each, in order to be 
eligible for the following series. In case of failure in the 
second or third series, success in the first will be held over 
until the following session. On passing this triple ordeal 
(and it is by no' means a simple matter, for one reads of can- 
didates that have presented themselves eight times before suc- 
ceeding)^ the teacher is "admitted" but is not definitely placed 
on the list of titulaires unless there is a vacancy. 

^ Arrcte, Jan. 18, 1887, Arts. 154-164. as modified by thearrctcs of July 
24, 1888, July 27, 1893, and Dec. 9, 1901, Gr. V, pp. 804-806; VI, pp. no, 
517-518; Bull. Adm., LXX, p. 995. 

- Brereton, Rural Schools of Northwest France, p. 46. 



236 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

The following table shows the results of the examination 
for the years 1899- 1904 : 

Certificat d' Aptitude PSdagogique. — Per cent of Successful Candidates. ^ 

1904. 



Men . . 
Women 



1899. 


1900. 


1901. 


1902. 


1903. 


45 
48 


43 
47 


45 
49 


57 
58 


54 

52 



47 
48 



General 
Characteristics 



Such are the professional examinations that confront the 
ordinary teacher of the French primary schools — a remark- 
ably well-organized and well-administered sys- 
tem of tests. The prevailing division into 
written and oral examinations is an arrange- 
ment that to us in America is comparatively unknown. It 
certainly gives the examiners an opportunity to study the 
working of the candidate's mind in a way that a written 
test never allows, but in the case of unskilful questioners, 
it is mo®t trying for the nervous unfortunaltes. In the 
case of the professional examiinations and the entrance 
examinatiooi's to the various schools, the isystem would 
seem to have an immense advantage over our exclu- 
sively written tests, but in the leaving examination of the 
very elementary schools, it appears as rather a waste of time 
and energy, especially since it provides no opportimity for 
helping out a pupil that may have been unfortunate in the 
written test. Another point that has undoubtedly attracted at- 
tention is the small nimiber of questions asked in each sub- 
ject at the written examination, one or at most two. This 
forms a striking contrast to many O'f our exainination 
papers. This is one thing that makes possible the rapid 
correction of papers, for almost invariably these examinations 
are corrected the same day on which they are written, and the 
candidates usually know in the evening the result of the day's 
trial. 

The number of candidates that have received the brevets 



^Bull. Adm., LXVIIl. p. 1094; LXXII. p. 1168; LXXVI, p. 1005. 



THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 



237 



dc capacite and the ccrtiUcat d'aptitude pedagagique from 
1893 to 1904 are as follows : ^ 



Years. 


Brevet 
Elhnentaire. 


Brevet 
Supirieur. 


Certificat dC Aptitude 
PMagogique . 


1893.- 

1894. ■ 

1895. • 

1896. . 
1897.- 

1898. . 

1899. . 

1900. . 
1901. 

1902. . 

1903. • 

1904. . 








14,771 

14,990 

15.433 

16,463 , 

16,159 

17,025 

16,686 

17,010 

18,509 

19,208 

20,399 
20,850 


3,440 
3,436 
3,586 
3,787 
3,686 

3,659 
3,713 
3,620 

3.83s 
4,329 
4.505 
4,989 


3,731 
3,229 

3,057 
3,054 
3.254 
3,321 
3,279 
3.156 
3,500 
8,904 
3,863 
4.689 



1 For the years 1893-1897, cf. Organisation et Situation de I'Enseigne- 
ment Primaire, p. 262. Since 1897, cf. the numbers of the Bulletin Ad- 
ministratif. 



CHAPTER XII 
The Primary Higher Normal Schools 

In 1879/ a new law was passed requiring every department 
to provide for the training of its women as well as its men 
teachers either in schools of its own or in those 
Purpose in supported in common by two departments. 
Four years were allowed for complying with 
this demand. When a similar law " was proposed the year 
before, only nineteen of the departments had girls' normal 
schools, though the great majority of the others partly com- 
pensated for this want by the so-called normal courses. The 
conditions as regards the boys' schools were practically re- 
versed, for these were to be found in nearly all the depart- 
ments, but even thus compliance with the new law meant 
founding more than eighty new normal schools and supplying 
them with teachers. The first of these needs was merely a 
question of finance, but furnishing the teaching force was quite 
a different matter. The establishment of the primary higher 
normal school at Fontenay-aux-Roses was a partial attempt to 
solve the difficulty. Saint-Qoud followed soon after, and thus 
the State had completed its primary system. These two 
schools still remain unique in the annals of educational history. 
They have done a great work but their need and usefulness are 
not yet over, for they have to provide for the constant re- 
newal of the teaching force in the departmental normal schools. 

The school at Fontenay-aux-Roses was established July 13, 
1880.^ The first lessons of the initial term were held in the 

1 Lot, Aug. 9, 1879, Gr. V, pp. 72-74. 

- Proposition presentee par M. Bert, Apr. i, 1878, also accompanying 
statistical tables. Gr. IV, pp. 780, 864-876. 
^ Decret, Gr. V, p. 201. 
238 



PRIMARY HIGHER NORMAL SCHOOLS 239 

departmental normal school at Paris, and it was not until the 

following- November that the new enterprise 

was finally installed in its present home. The Fontenay- 
, , . , , . , . , . aux-Roses 

school is pieasantly situated m a charmmo^ 

valley about five or six miles from Paris, and the installation of 

buildings and equipment is unquestionably the fiuest I found 

anywhere in France. The Minister has always been very 

g-enerous in gifts to the school, for on every hand one sees 

beautiful casts and costly pictures. 

For the first time, the pupils are treated like young women 

and not like school girls. They are left free to plan their time 

outside the class room as they see fit and are 

merely held responsible for accomplishing their . tf ^^ , 
1 -TN • , , , , r the School 

work. During the noon hour and the after- 
noon recreation period, they are even allowed to leave the 
grounds and walk about the town or country, the only require- 
ment bdng that they sign the porter's book and enter the time 
of leaving and returning. Each student has her own room 
where she may do as she pleases, decorate as suits her fancy 
and spend as muc'h time las she hkes. Tliis would hardly 
be worthy of note were it not so entirely at variance with the 
rules and regulations that prevail in the lower normal schools. 
Not only are the pupils here under no expense while they are 
at the school, but each one receives two hundred francs per 
year from the State. In return they have to contract to serve 
at least ten years in the service of public instruction or in case 
of failure so to do, to reimburse the State for the expense of 
their living at the school. Tllie school has at its disposal every 
other Sunday, a loge at the Comedie Frangaise, one of the thea- 
ters subsidized by the government, and, except for the times 
when questionable plays are being produced, this is regularly 
occupied by pupils or teachers. 

The hour after dinner every evening the girls spend to- 
gether in dancing or general social intercourse. They cer- 
tainly ought to enjoy their sojourn at the school, for all the en- 
vironment is favorable. There are, however, no social organi- 
zations among the pupils themselves. The teachers mingle 



240 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



with th«Ti somewhat, but even here apparently never let down 
the barriers that distingfuish theni from the student body. 
There are three general study rooms, one for the first and 
second classes in letters, one for the same two classes in science, 
and the third for all the last year pupils. Here they do most 
of their studying, but one finds the young women scattered 
about the halls in winter or the gardens in summer busily 
poring over their books. The whole atmosphere of the place 
is quiet and restful, and one fails to notice any feeling of re- 
straint in the air. This general freedom and the early suc- 
cess of the work were due to ,Felix Pecaut, the practical found- 
er and first head of tlie institution. There has ahvays been 
a directress over the school, but until the year after M. Pecaut 
retired in 1896, she had no responsibility for the direction of 
studies. M. Pecaut's deep philosophical insight into pedagogi- 
cal problems and his broad sympathy dominated the institution 
for so long that it has been very difficult to fill the gap caused 
by his retirement. 

Admiss-ion to the school is entirely by competitive examinia- 
tion, the number of vacancies being determined each year by 
the Minister. To be eHgible for this examina- 
tion, the pupil must be between nineteen and 
twenty-five years of age ; must hold the brevet superieur, one oi 
the haccalaureats or the secondary diploma granted by girls' 
schools, and have entered upon the ten years' service agree- 
ment.^ Like the other examinations in Franca, this consists 
of .two parts, a written and an oral, with some practical work 
in sewing, the first of these taking place in the chefs-lieux oi 
the various departments, and the second at the normal schod 
itself. Oirdinarily twice as many candidates are summoned 
to Paris as there are vaoancaes to fill, so the examinatiion board 
has an opportunity to consider something more than mere 
knowledge in choosing the new pupils. In 1903, twenty out 
of the eighty-seven original candidates in letters were asked to 
come up for the oral examination. 

At present, these pupils seem to be coming in large num- 

'^ Arrete, Jan. 18, 1887, Art. 114, Gr. V, p. 794- 



PRIMARY HIGHER NORMAL SCHOOLS 241 

bers from the secondary schools, whereas when Fontenay was 
first started the majority was made up of normal school teach- 
ers, who found this an easy road to a directorship, or of young 
women already teaching- in the elementary 
schools. At that time, while there were three Character 
classes at the school, the third was primarily a r^dd^t 
training for normal school directresses, and by 
far the great majority of the heads of the girls' normal schools 
in France to-day are former pupils of that class. At the pres- 
ent time, there is still a third year, but since 1896 it has formed 
an integral part oi the regular course. 

The whole series of entrance examinations is based upon 
the subject matter of the lower normal schools and covers 
practically the same ground as that for the brevet siiperieur. 
There is this difference, however, that the pupils have now 
begun to specialize and their work is entirely devoted to let- 
ters or to science. Both in the entrance examinations and 
in the work of the school, the classes in peda- 
STOgT, ethics and modern languages are com- ^ Written 

^ ^^' _ _ ^ . Examination 

mon to the two divisions. The written ex- 
aminations for the candidates in letters include : ( i ) literature 
or grammar; (2) pedagogy or ethics; (3) history and geog- 
raphy; and (4) a modern language: for the candidates in 
science: (i) mathematics; (2) physics, chemistry and natural 
sciences; (3) mechanical and free hand drawing; (4) a mod- 
ern language; ^ and (5) pedagogy or ethics.^ The modern 
language paper, prepared with the help of the dictionary, is 
allowed two hours and each of the others four. 

These papers are then all sent on to Paris to be judged by 
the special commission appointed by the Minister for that 
purpose, and consisting chiefly of the professors at the school. 

1 The regulation of Jan., 1887, which gave the pupil a choice between 
English and German has since been modified to include as well Italian, 
Spanish and Arabic. Arrete, Jan. 9, 1895, Art. 118, Gr. VI, p. 590. Slightly 
modified by Arrete, May 10, 1904. Bull. Adm., LXXV, p. 668. 

2 The scope of these examinations will readily be found by referring to 
the examinations for the brevet superieur, Appendix F. 



242 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



The best of the writers are invited to Fontenay for the final 
test. The candidates come from all over France and even 
from Algeria, but they have to bear their entire traveling ex- 
penses. During the three or four days of the examinations, 
they live at the school, but still at their OAvn expense — a 
merely nominal sum, however, about three francs per day. 
This financial arrangement may seem a little severe, for half of 
those called to Paris are sure to be disappointed. The prize 
is worth striving for, nevertheless, for the successful young 
women are practically sure of lucrative and honorable posi- 
tions all tlieir lives with retirement pensions at fifty-five years 
of age. At all events, there is no dearth of candidates. 

The oral examination is less comprehensive though fully 

as important. For the candidates in letters it consists in: 

( I ) presentation of a topic in grammar, liter- 

_ ^^ . ature, history or geography; (2) reading and 
Examination ' . "^ & & 1 .7 » v y & 

explanation of a text chosen from the list oi 
authors for the brevet supcrieur; and (3) a. reading and 
rapid translation of a selection (English, German, Italian, 
Spanish or Arabic) taken from one of the books on the list 
drawn up evei*y three years by the Minister of Public Instruc- 
tion; h. a conversation in the foreign language; the candi- 
date is invited to summarize or to reproduce the substance of 
the assigned text.^ 

For the science candidates, this examination includes : 
(i) mathematics; (2) ph3^sics, chemistry or natural sciences; 
and (3) a modern language. These questions are made 
out by the commission and are assigned tO' the pupils by 
lot, an hour being given them (except for the modern 
language) to sit down quietly and think over not only the 
substance but also the form of the response. During this 
time, they may make any notes or drafts they choose which 
they are perfectly free to use in their answers. Indeed, this 
part of the examination takes the form of an impromptu lec- 
ture with the examining board as audience. The other pupils 

'^Arrets, May 10, 1904. Bull. Adni., LXXV, p. 669. (To take effect in 
1505.) 



PRIMARY HIGHER NORMAL SCHOOLS 043 

often file in quietly to listen to their less fortunate companions. 
After the candidate has finished, the committee usually ask a 
few questions either on the subject under consideration or some 
allied brandi. In the second part of the science examination 
above, the examiners have an opportunity to touch lightly 
upon the other subjects than the one specifically treated, the 
student's answer often suggesting- lines of questioning to be 
pursued. 

There is furthermore a practical test in sewing which is 
also common to the twO' sections. 

The forty-eight pupils ^ at Fontenay in 1903 were divided 
evenly between letters and science. The accompanying daily 
programs will show that in their work at the 

111 (-11 1 11- -I- 1 Instruction 

school they lollow the general hues mdicated 
by their entrance examinations, for within these larger limits 
the graduates are all specialists. The number of subjects here 
is as small as that in the departmental normal schools is cor- 
respondingly large. The courses are carried on in rather a 
peculiar way, for each subject is in charge of a professor, who 
comes out from Paris about once a week, while 
there is a resident assistant or tutor to conduct ^, ^^ , 

the ieachers 

the work during the other meetings of the class. 
These professors, who by the way are nearly all men, together 
with their fellows at Saint-Cloud are among the best men to 
be found in their subjects in the field of secondary and higher 
education. The assistants, invariably women, are chosen from 
the ablest teachers of the departmental normal schools, though 
without any other special training. These regular professors 
are all specialists of the very first rank and are in a position 
to give the pupils an orientation and a breadth of real culture 
that is possible in no other school of the primary system save 
at Saint-Cloud. 

1 The budget of 1903 provided for an increase of ten in the number 
of these students in order to furnish the additional teachers required by 
the departmental normal schools in consequence of the -law of laicization 
of 1902. {Budget du Ministere de I'Instruction Publique, 1903, p. 36.) 



DAILY PROGRAM OF THE PRIMARY HIGHER NORMAL SCHOOL. 
FONTENA Y-AUX-ROSES. ' 



Year. 



Monday. 
II. 



III. 



Letters. 



q% to II 

Lecture on ethical or pedagogical questions. 

Letters and science. 



Tuesday. 
II. 

,9% to II 5< 
Literature and 
French Com- 
position. 



III. 



1% to 3% 
Modern 
history. 



3% to 4j< 

Modern and 

contemporary 

history. 



1% to 2^ 
Elocution. 



2}i to 334 

Elocution. 



3H to 5% 

Geography. 

Two classes together. 



SH to 6^ 
Geography. 



Science. 



95i to II 

Lecture on ethical or pedagogical questions. 

Letters and science. 



994 

Mathematics. 

I Each class on alternate weeks.) 



1% 
Geology. 

4% 
Cosmography. 




i?4 i 

Geology. \ 

Mathematics, i 



Elocution. 



Year.... I. 



Wednesday. 
II. 



III. 



Letters. 



ij< to 3M 

Grammar 

(every two 

weeks). 

3K to 53=i 
Psychology. 



ifi to 31^ 

Grammar 

f every two weeks). 

Two classes together. 



8 to 9 

Modern 

languages. 

II to Il]l^ 
Gymnastics. 



Thursday. 
II. 



9 to 10 

Modern 

languages. 

\dy<^ to II 
Gymnastics. 

~iKt0 3>i 



III. 

10 to II 

Modern 
languages. 



Cutting and fitting (every two weeks). 
Elective. Three classes together. 



Music. 



sKto 7 
Three classes together. 



8% 

Zoology. Lahoratory 

(every two weeks). 



Science. 



83/ 

Modern 

languages. 



Gymnastics. 



io3^ 

Gymnastics. 



Physics. 
Two classes together. 

3J< I 
Psychology. I 



Cutting and fitting (every two weeks). 
Three classes together. 

Music. Three classes together. 



Year. 



I. 



Friday. 
II. 



III. 



Letters. 



Saturday. 
II. 



9^ to TX% 

Literature 
and French 
composition. 



III. 

^Yi to 11^ 

Literature 
and 1" rench 
composition. 



3K to sVi 

Ethics. 

Two classes together. 



6to7>^ 

Ancient and 

mediaeval 

history. 



Botany. 
Two classes together. 



Science. 



Literature and French composi- 
tion. Two classes together. | 



Ethics. 
Two classes together. 



7 '4 

Chemistry. 

Alternately for each of the three classes. 

I y. 

Drawing. 
Three classes together. 



1' 



' Organisation et Situation de V Enseignenietit Primaire, pp. 472-473. 



244 



PRIMARY HIGHER NORMAL SCHOOLS 245 

The classes ordinarily last for an hour and a half, the first 
thirty or forty minutes being occupied by O'ne of the pupils in 
presenting a given subject previously assigned 
for her study, subsequently criticized by her 
classmates and then by the professor, the remainder of the 
time being occupied with the lecture proper. This is certainly 
most admiralble practice work, for, be it remembered, these are 
the very students that are to become the professors of the 
lower nomial schools. The classes in the school are so small, 
only eight or ten pupils, that each one has several opportunities 
in the course of the year to lecture just as she will have to 
do later before pupils of her own. The other meetings of the 
class, in charge O'f the tutors, are less formal and give more 
opportunity for personal help. This combination is said to give 
very satisfactory results, for the resident teachers can come 
into close touch with the individual pupils and can thus min- 
ister to their several wants. 

A very important feature oi the work at Fontenay is the 
general assembly on Monday mornings. At this time the stu- 
dents are addressed by some of the most pro'minent educa- 
tional and literary people of all France. It was through these 
talks that M. Pecaut was able to exert such a profound and 
lasting influence upon the minds of his teachers and his stu- 
dents. These Monday morning lectures are chiefly confined 
to discussions of large ethical or pedagogical questions of cur- 
rent interest and form a part of the required work of all the 
students. 

A part of the time allotted to psychology is devoted to 
a systematic study of the history of education, the subject be- 
ing carefully developed from the time of Xeno- 
phon down to the present day, treated, how- p'i °''^- 
ever, from the point of view of educational 
theory rather than of educational practice. It is decidedly un- 
fortunate that so much of the history of education to-day is 
built upon that foundation. 

The term cultural may fairly denominate the work at 
Fontenay, and the criticisms of subject matter or method of 



246 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

presentation of the student's reports are entirely from the ideal 

rather than the practical standard. In spite of the fact that 

the future pupils of these students will be normal school young 

women, yet it is somewhat difficult to understand how they can 

train others to be effective teachers unless they themselves are 

practical teachers. This 'becomes all the more striking when 

one considers that the greater part of these students come from 

secondary schools and yet are destined to become the teachers 

of the primary normal schools. 

For about two weeks, the second year pupils are sent to do 

regular practice teaching either in a communal school at 

Fontenay or in one of the Paris schools. The 

„ , ."^^ student is given over to the charge of the di- 
1 caching * ^ 

rectress and is required to spend all her time 
at the school. She may be kept in one class throughout the 
period or sent around to various classes, but at all events she 
is supposed to become thoroughly conversant with all the work 
of the school in its various aspects. The assistants ajt the 
normal school as well as the primary inspector attend as many 
of her classes as they can and help her in every possible way. 
As has already been pointed out, however, this is entirely too 
superficial a way for the future normal school teachers of 
France to get their practical knowledge of the primary schools; 
and here is one condition that will militate seriously against the 
future usefulness of the school, for these two weeks may be 
the only time that many of these teachers will ever spend in 
a primary school. 

At the close of the three years' course, the pupils come up 
for the examination for the certificat d'aptitude an professorat 

des ecolcs normales, or special certificate for 

Normal teaching in the normal schools. Comparatively 

C tiii ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ pupils at Fontenay or Saint-Cloud 

fail in these examinations, and the few that are 
so unfortunate usually receive provisional appointments to nor- 
mal school positions which are made permanent as soon as this 
condition, so to speak, is passed off. Fontenay is still the 
training school for the directresses of the normal schools, 



PRIMARY HIGHER NORMAL SCHOOLS 047 

though Sainft-Cloud does not now and never has played exactly 
the same role for the boys' schools. 

As has just been pointed out, Saint-Cloud has had a some- 
what different mission to perform than has Fontenay, despite 
the fact that both were started about the same 
time and under the influence of the same gen- 
eral spirit. The normal school at Saint-Cloud was formally 
organized December 30, 1882,^ although previous to that time 
there had been two normal courses. The first, for a few 
months at the end of the school year 1880-1881,^ was estab- 
lished to fit the young adjunct teachers then 

Its PrGcvirsors 

in the normal schools for the certificate for the 
professorship. This had succeeded so well that the following 
school year another course was organized to continue through- 
out the year. The students here were recruited by competitive 
examination, whereas on the former occasion they had been 
selected by the rectors. During the second semester, the 
school, wdiich up to that time had been located at Sevres, was 
moved to its present quarters in a building connected with the 
old palace at Saint-Cloud. Here the school occupies a com- 
manding site on a hillside rising abruptly from the Seine, with 
Paris lying across the plain which stretches away toward the 
east. In the following December, the decree above referred 
to was promulgated, and the present school formally began its 
existence under practically the same regime as to-day.^ M. 
Jacoulet, then a general inspector, was the first head of the 
school, and he was succeeded only about six years ago^ by the 
present director, M. Pierre, who is also' a general inspector. 

The course here is only two years as against three years at 
Fontenay. The students are about evenly divided between the 
sections in letters and science, having numbered twenty and 

^De,crct, Dec. 30, 1882, Gr. V, p. 498. 

- Organized by arrete of Mar. 9, 1881. Bull. Adm., XXIV, p. 513. 

3 The special normal school created by the decree of Jan. i, 1884 for the 
preparation of manual training teachers was amalgamated in the follow- 
ing September with the school at Saint-Cloud. Since that date, then, the 
students with particular tendencies toward manual work have been enrolled 
among the pupils of the science department. 



248 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

eig"hteen respectively for the year 1902-1903. As at Fon- 

tenay, not only is the school absolutely free, 

Contrast with ^^^^ ^^^ g^,^^^ ^,^^j^ Student two hundred 

I-ontenay ^ -^ 

and forty francs per year. The conditions for 
entrance are very similar to those of the sister school, the char- 
acter of the candidates, however, being quite different. While 
at Fontenay, the majority of the students come from second- 
ary schools, at Saint-Cloud a very large per cent come from 
primary schools. The proportion of secondary school students 
is increasing slightly. These latter are admittedly the better 
prepared to take the entrance examinations, but they are not 
SO' well fitted for their future work. In contrast to Fontenay, 
Saint-Cloud does not now and never has attempted primarily 
to train its students to be heads of normal schools. To-day, 
even more than ever, the directors of the boys' normal schools 
are recruited from among the primary inspectors, and it is 
practically obligatory to pass at least five years in the inspector- 
ate in order to become eligible for the directorship. There is 
no similar source of supply available in the case of the girls' 
schools, for at tluis moment there are ooly three women pri- 
mary inspectors in all France, and twO' of these are in the de- 
partment of the Seine. So' Fontenay is dikely tO' oo'ntinue to be 
the training school for the heads of the girls' normal schools. 

As to the previous life of the students at Saint-Cloud — some 
come directly from secondary schools, some have been teach- 
ers in active service and have been hard at work preparing 
themselves for the entrance examinations, and still others have 
come from departmental normal schools that have added a 
fourth year to their course expressly tO' prepare yoimg men 
for Saint-Cloud. This extra year is found at Beauvais, Gre- 
noble, Lyon and Nancy. 

What has already been said about the admission to the 
school at Fontenay-aux-Roses applies equally well tO' Saint- 
Cloud, the chief difference being in the manual 
work. In the practical test, the candidates in 
the science department are recjuired tO' make a model in plaster, 
wood or iron instead of the sewing required of the girls. 



PRIMARY HIGHER NORMAL SCHOOLS 249 

Tlie course at Saint-Cloud is specialization of a very de- 
cided type, the students in letters being restricted to purely 
literary subjects, and those in science to purely 
scientific subjects. French, modern languages, 
ethics and psychology, and school administration, however, are 
common to both sections. The fact that one finds here both 
English and German — and in some years, Italian, Spanish and 
even Arabic — does not indicate that more than one modern 
language is prescribed for any one pupil. Each student pur- 
sues here the particular language that he presented for admis- 
sion. Inasmuch as the students come from all over France — ■ 
and in fact, even foreigners are received here under some con- 
ditions — one is likely to find any oi the modern languages 
taught in the French schools. There are regular classes in 
English and German, but in case any of the other three is de- 
sired, the Ministry provides a teacher for that language, and 
the student is enabled tO' continue his study. At the end oi 
the course, there are three or four foreign scholarships, 
awarded after examination, available for further study in Eng- 
land or Germany. Each of these grants a year's residence 
abroad, and at the end of that time the holder is able to return 
to France with a magnificent preparation for modern language 
teaching. 

The course in manual work is very well organized, and is 
probably obtaining better results than any other school in 

France except the special technical schools, ,, , ,,r , 
, ■ , • 1 , • • 1- • r 1 TXT- Manual Work 

which are outside the jurisdiction of the Min- 
istry of Public Instruction. There is a complete installation 
of steam power here — ^being one of the two- instances that I 
found in the public primary school system. The manual 
work includes five branches : forging, joinery, wood turning, 
iron turning and carpentry. The subjects are all interrelated, 
and the correlation with physics and chemistry is constantly 
emphasized. Two periods of an hour and a half each are 
devoted to the shop work. Much importance is attached to 
synthetic construction, and every class works together in mak- 
ing some elaborate piece either in wood or iron. 



DAILY PROGRAM OF THE PRIMARY HIGHER NORMAL SCHOOL, SAINT-CLOUD.' 



Year 



Monday. 



II. 



I. 



Tuesday. 



II. 



1 &'A. 

1 Modern history. 


10% 

History of French literature.* 


Free-hand drawing. - 


3 to 6 
Singing.* 



Science. 



Literature and French composition.* 

Free-hand drawing.* 
Question period.* 



Chemistry. 



Physics.* 

4A 
Question period.* 



Year 



Wednesday. 



Thursday. 



Pohtical economy. 



Contemporary history. 



x3^ 

Ancient hterature or reading and recitation.* 



School administration.* 



Grammar. 
Modern history. 



Ancient history. 



8J^ 
Geography. 



Pohtical economy. 
Manual work. 



Mathematics. 



Science. 



Physics. 



Mathematics. 



School administration. 



Chemistry.* 



^A 

Mechanical drawing. 



Manual work. 

4% 
Mechanical drawing. 



Friday. 



Saturday. 



French composition. 



Ethics and psychology. 

4A 
Modern languages. 



French composition 



Letters. 



2^ 

Modern languages. 



rA 
Geography. 



io% 
Ethics and psychology. 



Science. 



Natural history.* 



12% 

Modeling and 
stereotomy. 



4>^ 
Modern languages. 



12}4 

Manual work. 

2% 

Modern languages. 



SA 

Natural history.* 

\ Ethics and psychology. 



12% 

Manual work. 



12% 

Modeling and 
stereotomy. 

2% 

Topography. 



.4% 
Question period. 



Each lesson lasts i% hours. 
Organisation et Situation de V Enseignement Priniaire , pp. 474-475. 
Common to both classes. 
250 



PRIMARY HIGHER NORMAL SCHOOLS 25 1 

No course is outlined for the school. The Minister has 
gathered here a group of the best teachers he can find, each 
one a master in his own subject, and he leaves 
them to plan their own work. These men are 
all from secondary ot higher institutions. One does not find 
the complete system of tutors here that prevails at Fontenay, 
although there are three regular iiiterrogateurs for some of 
the scientific subjects. On account of the method of admin- 
istration, the faculty is very large in proportion tO' the number 
of students, numbering (in 1903) twenty, aside from the 
above-mentioned interrogateurs. These are all non-residents. 
At the school there are only the director, the surveillant- 
general or house master, and a bursar-steward. 

The students enjoy almost complete freedom and are even 

less restricted than the pupils at Fontenay. Their quarters 

are not nearly so attractive, however, for the „ , 

• r 1 , 1 , -^ 1-1 Student Life 

large spacious rooms of the old chateau which 

the school occupies are rather cold and cheerless. The sole 
means of recreation is apparently confined to walking through 
the grounds of the neighboring national park. 

Since its foundation in 1882, the school has received nearly 
five hundred pupils, aside from the foreigners that have been 
in attendance. The constancy of their purpose 
is attested by the fact that up to 1899— the last ^'he"pupils°^ 
year for which statistics are available — only 
one had left the field of education.^ On leaving Saint-Cloud 
the pupils come up for the examination for the certificate which 
allows them tO' teach in the normal schools, and practically 
every one passes this. Then they are sent to the various nor- 
mal schools where vacancies exist. In case there are not 
enough positions for all the members of the leaving class, they 
may be assigned to an ccole primaire superieure. This is es- 
pecially true of the science section, and one finds quite a num- 
ber of fonner Saint-Cloud pupils at the various higher pri- 
mary schools all over the country. Formerly some of the 

1 Organisation et Situation de I'Enscigncmcnt Primaire, p. 477. 



25^ 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



graduates received appointments as directors of normal schools 

immediately on leaving- the school, but of late years it has been 

customary to draw upon the primary inspectors tO' fill these 

positions. An appreciable number of the students enter the 

primary inspectorate, and a small number find their way into 

secondary education, though almost invariably as modern 

language teachers. 

The twO' schools at Fontenay-aux-Roses and Saint-Cloud 

are the only institutions of the primary system that are sup- 

^ ported exclusively by the State. In the lower 

Expenses i i • , • , , i 

and higher prnnary schools, the government is 

responsible only for the salaries, the maintenance of the build- 
ings falling upon the communities. In the case of the normal 
schools, the departments erect and maintain the buildings, 
while the State pays the teachers' salaries and the living ex- 
penses of the pupils. At these two higher primary normal 
schools, however, the entire burden falls on the general gov- 
ernment. Tlie budget for 1905 amounted to upwards of 
300,000 francs and was apportioned as follows : ^ 

Fontenay-aux-Roses. Francs. 

Salaries of teaching force 83,000 

Food, maintenance of buildings, supplies, etc 89,000 

172,000 

Saint-Cloud. 

Salaries of teaching force 89,000 

Food, maintenance of buildings, supplies, etc 58,500 

143,500 



315,500 
^Budget, 1905. Loi, Apr. 22, 1905. Bull. Adin., LXXVII, p. 543. 



CHAPTER XIII 
Conclusion. Measures of Efficiency 

In the preceding pages we have traced rather carefully the 
ramifications of the French primary school system. We have 
followed its vicissitudes from its inception ; we have seen it 
steadily advancing, naturally not without its temporary retro- 
gressions, until it stands to-day more effective than ever be- 
fore, the type of a highly centralized system of education. 
We may not agree with all that it is, nor even perhaps all that 
it stands for, but this much we must admit — its efficiency for 
the people of France, and in the long run this national efficiency 
is the criterion by which we must measure the worth of an 
educational institution. In these present days of sentimental- 
ism, we are perhaps too prone to avoid the terms utilit}^ and 
utilitarian, but in the last analysis this in its broadest and best 
sense is what counts; whatever is useful persists, and what- 
ever is not of positive service passes away. So in appreciat- 
ing the worth of the French system of schools, we must con- 
sider this one question: Does it work? And really the French 
primary school system does seem to work uncommonly well. 
On the whole there is real harmony everywhere, not that the 
teachers are all satisfied and are not continually hoping for bet- 
ter salaries, for example, but in spite of material considerations 
of this nature which are bound tO' arise as long as human na- 
ture remains as it is, the whole public school machinery is run- 
ning extremely smoothly. 

What, then, are the criteria by which we judge the effective- 
ness of a given school system ? Perhaps the best and the sur- 
est way is to watch the young people that are coming forth 
from these schools for a long period of time to see if they are 
taking up the burdens that their fathers are laying down, yes 

253 



254 



PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 



and are carrying these even more successfully than did the 
previous generation. Such an attempt as this has never been 
seriously undertaken and probably never will be, for the diffi- 
culties in the w^ay are manifest. Let us look, however, at 
some of the more patent evidences of an efficient school. 

In this country there are certain standards of construction 

to which the best buildings conform more or less closely. In 

the evolution of educational thought, the assur- 

Physical ^^^^ ^^ SOcial and political progress has de- 

Environment X o 

manded a compulsory attendance law. Inas- 
much as this requirement is theoretically, at least, imposed 
upon all children within certain age limits, the conclusion is 
inevitable that the buildings wherein this attendance is en- 
forced must be not only not harmful from the hygienic point 
of view, but should even be of some positive help in the de- 
velopment of the child physically and morally as well as in- 
tellectually. For centuries this intellectual aspect of education 
was so prominent as to monopolize the attention, in some cases 
even to the neglect of the other two. At the present moment, 
no country is doing more than our own to change this point 
of view and to improve the physical conditions surrounding 
children during their school hours. Much advance has al- 
ready been made, so that in the most progressive towns and 
cities almost ideal conditions may be said to prevail, but there 
is yet need for the boards of education in the smaller communi- 
ties to advance to a just appreciation of the importance of such 
questions as lighting, heating, ventilating, and seating the 
schoolrooms. 

There is another and a higher reason why much skill and 
money need to be expended upon the mere physical environ- 
ment of the school children, and that is that the 
Esthetic school is responsible for the esthetic develop- 

Environment . . ., ,.,. . . , 

ment of its pupils. We Americans need to 
make a conscious effort in this direction, for we have as yet 
confined ourselves so exclusively to material advancement as 
to leave almost no time for artistic progress, at least as far as 
concerns the public consciousness. Reference has been made 



MEASURES OF EFFICIENCY 255 

in the preceding pages to the comparative absence of any 
such direct efforts in the French schools, but there the neces- 
sity for this is not so imperative as it is here, for across the 
Atlantic poor indeed is the community that does not provide 
some opportunity for satisfying, at least in a measure, the 
artistic craving of the popular taste. The great galleries of 
the Louvre, the Vatican and Dresden, to cite only a few, are 
regularly thronged with thousands of the populace, men, wo- 
men and children alike, eager to feast their eyes on the price- 
less treasures of ancient and modern art. Since society here 
will not or cannot do this on any large scale, it ought to do it 
in a small way in the schools. All those responsible for the 
administration of school affairs should feel themselves bound 
to provide their schools with reproductions in photograph or 
plaster of the finest treasures of the world oi art, as a basis 
for inculcating a discriminating appreciation of the good and 
the beautiful in form and color as well as in literature. This 
remissness in the past, not only in the schools but throughout 
the whole social world, has been probably the strongest reason 
w^hy we as a nation have produced vei*y few really great men in 
any field of the fine arts. The few that we can boast have de- 
veloped in spite of their environment rather than on account 
of it. We need to surround the mothers of our future chil- 
dren with examples of the good and the beautiful, we need 
to bring up these children in an artistic atmosphere, and thus 
some of the conditions are present for developing master 
minds. But artistic feelings and artistic temperaments refuse 
to be transported bodily from one country to another. Tliey 
are a development, an evolution if you please, that demands a 
sjTiipathetic environment for its full maturity. 

In the actual conduct of the school, we find striking differ- 
ences between the French ideas and our own. On the con- 
tinent, the attitude of the teacher toward the 
pupils is regularly that of officer toward sub- conduct 
ordinate, a situation undoubtedly due in no 
small measure to the long-continued existence of the monarchi- 
cal and military regime. France, although a Republic in 



256 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

name, with all the apparent evidences of such a form of gov- 
ernment, still retains many of the ideas and ideals of the royal 
period, and it would be surprising if she did not. We in this 
country with our century and a quarter of democracy find it 
far easier to change our point of view, though even here modi- 
fications of established custom are difficult enough tO' effect. 
In our best schools the martinet or the commander nO' longer 
finds a place, and the relations between teacher and pupils are 
of the most friendly nature, for in the long run these are the 
most helpful. Our aim is not the fashioning of unthinking 
hewers of wood and drawers of water, nor on the other hand 
of those that cast law, custom and conventionality to the 
winds, but rather to develop vigorous, keen-minded boys and 
girls, imbued with such a regard for law and order as comes 
from a consciousness of participation in fonTnulating social reg- 
ulations, young people of that strength and independence of 
thought that arise from a confidence in their own ability to 
think and act for themselves. 

Too much of the school work has been given with the idea 

that it would function somewhere in the distant future. Our 

chief concern is with the afifairs of to-day. We 

'^'^^, need to look upon the child from the subjec- 

Curnculum ... . , , . 

tive point of view and to recognize that he is 
living just as complete an existence, so far as he is concerned, 
as are we grown people. The transition from childhood to 
mature life is so gradual that no one can distinguish exactly 
when it takes place, yet all the characteristics of this earlier 
stage are found in the later, only larger, fuller, deeper, more 
significant. Why, then, should not our educational practice 
take cognizance of this fact and not treat the whole educational 
process as a preparation for life? It is life. Our children 
need to acquire general notions that will be of service to them 
now, not those that may be found useful years hence. It is an 
old doctrine that we "learn by doing," and so do we learn to be 
by being. We become good citizens by being good citizens 
in our school society, not by accumulating a mass of ideas that 
we store away in some remote part of our consciousness and 



MEASURES OF EFFICIENCY 257 

expect to draw forth and use at some subsequent time. In the 
same way we teach the use of good EngHsh, not that the in- 
dividual may use correct speech when he reaches mature Hfe, 
but that he may use it now. We try to cultivate an apprecia- 
tion of and a taste for good literature, not that this may begin 
to function twelve or fifteen years hence, but that it may make 
our children's young years more livable, more enjoyable and 
more helpful. Why not apply these same standards to arith- 
metic and the various other subjects of our school curriculum 
and eliminate a great mass of material that has come in 
through false or remains through antiquated principles of 
what is really valuable, or perhaps attempts to justify its pres- 
ence on the deferred payment basis? The attitude with re- 
spect to these ideas that we find in a school must materially 
influence our appreciation of that school. 

The relative proportion of form and content studies is only 
another aspect of the same question, form in this sense being 
used to denote tool subjects, and content those 
possessing some intrinsic value 011 account of Form and 

their relation to the social whole. The first of e. j- 

Studies 

these categories would include such subjects as 
beginning reading, writing, spelling, the first years of arith- 
metic, and unfortunately much of the later work that should 
be found in the second group. Subjects like literature, geog- 
raphy, history and civics that are closely bound up with the 
very essence of social life compose the other list. The formal 
studies should always be subordinate to the content studies, 
for the former are merely the frame-work, the skeleton, with- 
out whose careful integration the body of live tissue could 
not be supported. The introduction of real stories and real 
literature even in the lowest grades of the elementary school 
is a welcome indication that a change of feeling' is coming 
about. Keeping in mind our social ideal will give us a cri- 
terion for ruling out of the important places those subjects or 
parts of subjects that do not measure up to these standards. 
Not that these formal studies can ever be dropped out, but they 
must be relegated to positions quite in harmony with their 
relative values. 



258 PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

Again, to what extent does the curriculum give oppor- 
tunity for developing the creative instinct of the child? 
One of the A^ery earliest of tendencies and probably the out- 
growth of the infant's wild gesticulations, this instinct of 
which much might be made is usually effectively stunted by 
the restrictions of the school. It is only comparatively re- 
cently that definite efforts have been made in the schools tO' en- 
courage this desire for self-expression, and yet after all is not 
this the source of individuality, of real power ? Our strength 
along this line in the past has been in spite of the school rather 
than oil account of it. A national ideal that aims tO' produce 
mere passive followers rather than to develop leaders never 
need give heed to this question. But under the influence of 
democracy we are not satisfied to submit tO' the restrictions of 
such an ideal, and therein form a noticeable contrast tO' the 
European countries. This is the lesson the kindergarten has 
been able to teach the elementary schools, but as yet the les- 
son has not been fully grasped. Within the last two decades 
many additions have been made to the curriculum in response 
to this idea, such subjects for example as sewing, cooking, 
manual training; object lessons have become nature study, 
music and drawing have taken on new life, and many branches 
especially on the science side have been vitalized by the intro- 
duction of laboratory methods. This change is of sufficient 
significance to consider it a third step in the evolution of 
method which was begun by Comenius when he turned from 
stories about things to pictures of things, and carried on an- 
other stage by Pestalozzi in replacing those pictures by the 
realities themselves, but withal of a very simple sort. In our 
third stage, we find the subject matter more closely related to 
the real life of the world in which the child lives, but the im- 
portant fact here is that the material is handled by the pupils 
themselves, learning with the emphasis upon the doing as op- 
posed to learning where observation is the dominant factor. 
The relative importance of this dynamic, this creative side in 
the school activity serves as an indication of the probable 
worth of the school system. 



MEASURES OF EFFICIENCY 250 

Another important consideration is the position of the school 
in the hfe of the community. Where does it stand with refer- 
ence to the other educational institutions? 
Does it seem to assume that it is the sole or- Coordination 
ganization concerned in educatins: the youth, ^^'^^ ^^.^ 

. . . o ^ > Lommunity 

and so is it attempting to carry on this work 
alone, or, recognizing the educational responsibilities of other 
great institutions like the family, the vocation, the State, the 
church, to what extent does it attempt to affiliate itself with 
one or more of these powerful forces? It may fairly be said 
that at the present moment one can trace two distinct ten- 
dencies moving toward the attainment of this purpose, the one 
on the continent striving ever to cement more firmly the in- 
terests of the school and the State, the other in this country, 
much less definitely and effectively organized, endeavoring to 
bring the school and the family into closer and more sym- 
pathetic relations. In France this former tendency appears in 
the very organization of the school system, having at its head 
a cabinet member, the Minister of Public Instruction and Fine 
Arts. From the time of the Revolution, the interdependence 
of the national safety and popular education has become more 
and more recognized. The establishment of the higher pri- 
mary schools in the early thirties carried this idea forward an- 
other step, for they were specifically organized to provide for 
the further education O'f the under-leaders of the industrial 
army, while to-day their express purpose is to advance the 
agriculturail, industrial, and commercial interests of the nation. 
Tliis community of interest was even more firmly established 
in 1889 when the State assumed entire responsibility for the 
teacher's salary and he became as distinctly a state official as 
the post-office clerk. The paternal care of the State is evi- 
denced again in the opportunity extended by tlie Muscc Peda- 
gogiqiie for sending boxes of lantern 'slides to any school in 
the country that takes the trouble to ask for them. These 
slides are used not only in conjunction with the regular work 
of the school, but also in lectures of a public character. The 
idea of a kind of paternalism is seemingly being more and 



26o PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM OF FRANCE 

more fostered in French educational circles. There nearly 
everything- is imposed from above, while comparatively few 
things spring up from below. 

In the United States, as was stated above, the tendency to^ 
ward a coordination of educational factors seems to be taking 
the form of a closer alliance between the school and the family, 
the two institutions that have practically the sole charge of the 
young during the period of infancy. Each one of these needs 
the help of the other. The previous absence of cooperation 
was in a large measure due to a lack of acquaintance between 
them, but through the increased interest taken by the teach- 
ers in the home environment of their pupils and the growing 
sympathy toward the schools fostered by mothers' clubs, par- 
ents' associations and similar organizations, these two great 
factors bid fair to cooperate with each other much more ef- 
fectively for the future. Our school authorities need yet 
more to foster all efforts to bring about a better understanding 
between the school and the home. The parents really possess 
much latent interest in the schools, which requires only a 
little encouragement on the part of the educational leaders to 
become effective, for there are few parents that are not vitally 
concerned in the welfare of their children. The responsibilty 
for this falls largely upon the school principal, and if he be a 
man of tact and force, and one that is alive to his opportuni- 
ties he will liave little difficulty in arousing a real and per- 
manent community interest in schools and school affairs. The 
extent to which this interest manifests itself in works is a test 
of its real worth ; in the pressure brought to bear upon members 
of the board of education, for example, to provide the best 
school houses, the most efficient teachers; in the efforts ex- 
pended in decorating the school room.s and making them more 
suitable for developing the finer characteristics of the child na- 
ture. The school and the home each has its own particular 
field of work, its own problems to solve, but these responsi- 
bilities can be far more effectively discharged if each has the 
sympathy and support of the other. 



APPENDIX A 

Outline of the School Authorities 



Authorities. 


Source of 

Appointment. 


Powers 
AND Duties. 


Central Authorities. 










Minister. 


President. 








Coviite dii Contcnticux 
(17).* 

Superior Council 
(57).* 


Minister. 
Chiefly elected. 




Personal advisory board 
— legal questions. 

Advisory, administrative, 
judicial and discipli- 
narj^ powers over the 
whole system — higher, 
secondary and primary. 


Permanent section of 
this Council (15).* 


The nine members ap- 
pointed by the Presi- 
dent, together with six 
chosen by the Minister. 


Active body of the Coun- 
cil. Frequent meet- 
ings. Questions usu- 
ally considered here 
before being presented 
to the full Council. 


Co mite Consultatif. 
(Three sections, one 
for each degree of 
education.) Primary 
section (25).* 


Ex-officio. 






Advisory board — peda- 
gogical questions. 


General Inspectors 
(II).* 


President. 






All primary schools. 


Local Authorities. 










Rectors (17).* (One 
for each academy.) 


President. 






Head of higher, second- 
ary and primary school 
system in each acad- 
emy. 


Academy Inspectors 
(99).* (In general 
one for each depart- 
ment.) 


Minister. 






Chiefly confined to pri- 
mary education. 



* Number of members. 



261 



262 



APPENDIX A 



Authorities. 



Prefect. (One for each 
department.) 



Departmental Council 
(14).* 

Primary Inspectors 
(451).* 

Cantonal Delegates. 
(One for each can- 
ton.) 



Maire (of the com- 
mune.) 



Commission Scolaire 
(of the commune). 



Civil officer — Department 
of the Interior. 



Source of 
Appointment. 



Chiefly elected. 



Competitive examina 
tion. 

Departmental Council. 



Civil officer — Communal 
Council. 



Academy Inspector- 
Communal Council. 



Powers 

AND Duties. 



President of the Depart- 
mental Council — Coor- 
dinate with the Acad- 
emy Inspector in some 
respects, chiefly in ref- 
erence to the appoint- 
ment of teachers. 

Practically the depart- 
mental school board. 

All primary schools. 



Each assigned to a par- 
ticular school to visit. 
Concerned only with 
material welfare. 

President of the Com- 
mission Scolaire. Re- 
sponsible for enforcing 
the compulsory attend- 
ance law. 

A kind of local school 
board. Concerned with 
the attendance problem 
and helping needy chil- 
dren. 



* Number of members. 



APPENDIX B 

Examination for the Certificat d'£tudes Primaires 
£lementaires 

The followinig extracts from the pages of my note book de- 
scribing the examination of boys for the primary 

certificate at Lille in loo-^ will give some idea of ^f .,, 

, , T- , . at Lille, 1903 

the workmg of the French exammation system. 

The examination began at eight o'clock in the morning with 
one hundred and fifty^seven candidates, each of Whom had pre- 
viously filed with the academy inspector a paper filled out by his 
teacher and certified by the maire of the community where he 
lived, containing his full name, the date and place of his birth, the 
residence of his family, and his own signature. 

The work began with the following exercise in dictation : 

Examen du 19 Juin, 1903. Gargons. 

I. Dictee. L'automne. 

Connaissez-vous l'automne? L'automne en pleins champs, avec ses bour- 
rasques, ses longs soupirs, ses feuilles jaunies qui tourbillonnent au loin, ses 
sentiers detrempes, ses beaux couchers de soleil, pales comme le sourire 
d'un malade, ses flaques d'eau dans les chemins. . . . Connaissez-vous tout 
cela? Je suis au nombre de ceux qui aiment ces choses, et je donnerais 
deux etes pour un automne. J'adore les grandes flambees ; j'aime a me 
refugier dans le fond de la cheminee, ayant mon chien entre mes guetres 
humides. On entend le vent siffler dans la grange, la grande porte craquer, 
le chien tirer sur sa chaine en hurlant, et, malgre le bruit de la foret qui, 
tout pres de la, rugit en courbant le dos, on distingue les croassements 
lugubres d'une bande de corbeaux luttant contre la tempete. La pluie bat 
les petites vitres : on songe a ceux qui sont dehors, en allongeant ses jambes 
vers le feu. 

There were three complete readings of the extract ; the first to 
orient the pupils ; the second, a few words at a time for copying ; 
and the third in order that any errors might be noted and cor- 
rected. Finally, a few minutes were allowed for quiet revision. 
Ten fmdts give zero on the test, but there is usually a special 

263 



264 APPENDIX B 

standard for a fault. In this case the examiners were very len- 
ient, for the selection was unusually difficult for elementary school 
children. 

II. This same paper served as a test for 'handwriting. 

III. One hour was allowed for a composition on the subject: 
"The country policeman. (i) How may he be recognized? 
(2) What are his duties? (3) Some love him, others fear him. 
Why? Conclusion." 

On the whole, rather an easy subject, but somewhat compli- 
cated by the term garde champetre, an expression with which the 
city boy is not very familiar. The questions which follow sug- 
gest the general line of thoug^ht to be developed. 

IV. The two questions in arithmetic, both agricultural in their 
nature, involving mensuration, were not particularly easy. One 
hour was allowed for the selection. 

(i) A farmer sowed field cabbages on a piece of ground con- 
taining 3 hectares 65 ares. The expense of fertilizing and cul- 
tivating was 175 francs 80 centimes per hectare. The rent of the 
ground cost him at the rate of 24 francs for 30 ares. The har- 
vest was 18.60 hectolitres per hectare and brought 22.50 francs 
per hectolitre. What profit did the farmer realize ? 

(2) A piece of land containing 3.45 ares was sold for 125 
francs. At the same rate, what would be the value of a rectan- 
gular garden 68.25 metres long with the width Ys of its length? 

V. One hour was allowed for the drawing — a simple conven- 
tionalized, four-petaled rose enclosed in a square. 

VI. The boys from the rural schools were allowed to substitute 
the examination in agriculture for that in drawing. In case they 
elected to take the drawing also and passed it, this fact would be 
noted on their certificates. The following were the questions : 

( 1 ) What is meant by fertilizers ? 

(2) What is the difference between fertilizing and improving? 

(3) What are the important cereals raised in our department? 

(4) What fertilizer is particularly good for the cultivation of 
wheat ? 

(5) After what plants is it advisable to sow com? Why? 

These papers were corrected just as they came in by an exam- 
ining board in charge of the primary inspector. The other mem- 
bers of the body were one representative from each of the two 
commissions scolaircs (for there were two cantons represented 



EXAMINATION FOR PRIMARY CERTIFICATE 



265 



here), the director of the ccolc primaire superienre at Lille, to- 
gether with the directors and some assistants of the various ele- 
mentary schools within the district, making all told some dozen 
or fourteen persons. Included in this number were two repre- 
sentatives of private or congreganiste schools, for the government 
certificate is required of both public and private school pupils if 
they wish to be free from the obligation to attend school before 
the legal age, and these bodies are always represented when ques- 
tions involving their interests are at stake. 

The examination was administered with absolute fairness, as I 
believe is everywhere the case, notwithstanding complaints of dis- 
gruntled private school pupils to the contrary. Eadh candidate 
wrote his name and that of his school on the corner of his paper, 
folded it over and sealed it before beginning the examination. 
This was not cut open until the paper had been read and marked, 
so there was no possibility of knowing the writer's identity. 

The board worked very rapidly and by about one o'clock all the 
papers had been corrected. The marking was on a scale of ten, 
and zero in any subject served to reject the candidate. A mini- 
mum of twenty on the four compulsory subjects — the drawing 
and agriculture were reckoned with the afternoon subjects — was 
required in order to be admitted to the second part of the exam- 
ination. However, those pupils that had seventeen to nineteen 
might be admitted conditionally : that is, their report books for 
the year were examined and marked very good, good, or fair. 
Those whose books were very good could be admitted with a mark 
of only seventeen, while those that had only fair on their reports 
must have received at least nineteen on the written examination. 

By three o'clock the results were all tabulated, the names of 
the unsuccessful candidates were given to the principals of the 
schools represented, and they announced them to their own pupils. 
Then the second part of the examination began. 

In tills case the examinations in geography and history were 
written instead of oral. An hour was allowed for the following 
five questions : 

(i) What kings (French) took part in wars in Italy? Results 
of these wars. 

(2) Name some civil wars that desolated France and show the 
results of one of these. 

(3) Tell what you know of the American Revolution under 
Louis XVI. 



266 APPENDIX B 

(4) Trace the course of the Rhone and name the cities wat- 
ered iby it. 

(5) What do you know of the commerce and industries of the 
following cities : Reims, Saint-£tienne, Rouen, Armentieres ? 

The answers were all short and simple, at most not more than 
three or four lines, so there was no difficulty in finishing within 
the allotted time. 

The questions for the second part were formulated by the ex- 
amining board after they had convened for the afternoon session, 
while those of the morning were sent by the academy inspector in 
sealed envelopes and were opened by the chainnan in the presence 
of his fellow-examiners. 

The examination in French was really the only oral examina- 
tion. The candidates that had been successful in the morning 
were divided into little groups with one examiner for each. As 
each boy was called up in turn, he was asked to read from a book 
and explain the text, or perhaps to recite some lines from any one 
of a number of short poems which he submitted. The poems 
were not the same for all the schools, but were the same for all 
pupils from the same school. As before, some questions were 
asked tending to show whether or not the subject m.atter was 
understood. In order to insure absolute fairness here, the candi- 
date handed to his examiner a paper folded twice and pinned, on 
the inside of which he had written his name. The examiner wrote 
the mark on the outside, and the paper was not opened until it 
reached the board room. 

When the results were tabulated, there were a few that did not 
have the necessary thirty-five points. In general those were the 
boys that had been conditionally admitted from the morning. For 
these there was little hope. In a few exceptional cases, however, 
w*here the candidates lacked only one or two points and were 
above the compulsory school age, the board tried to show a little 
consideration. School records were looked up again, and every 
possible allowance was made. Sometimes the pupil just managed 
to get through, but at other times he was doomed to failure. One 
case in particular was noteworthy. A boy had only thirty-four 
and three-quarters points, and was nearly fourteen and a half 
years old. His reports had been marked only fair, and the case 
S'cemed a hard one to handle. On re-reading the reports, it was 
found that he had repeatedly been careless and troublesome in 



EXAMINATION FOR PRIMARY CERTIFICATE 267 

the class room. Also, he had been absent from two to ten days 
almost every month, and this in spite of repeated warnings from 
the teacher. In the face of all these facts the board refused any 
indulgence, and the boy failed. 

The chairman now hastened to announce the results to the 
anxious children. In the meantime many parents had gathered to 
hear the announcement, and were quite beside themselves when 
they found their boys had gained their certiiicats. With this 
came the award of the departmental prizes, two for each canton. 
For the city schools, these were taken with fifty-eight and fifty- 
seven points respectively out of a possible seventy, for the coun- 
try schools the corresponding records were fifty-two and a half 
and fifty-two points. . 

Only a very small number failed in the oral examination, and 
of all the one hundred and fifty-seven candidates, eighty per cent 
were successful. In the girls' examination the following day, 
eighty-three per cent passed. These figures happen to be exactly 
the same as those for all France for the last two years. 



APPENDIX C 
(i) Program of the Normal Schools^ July 31, 1851 

(Recitations per week.) 
Year. 

I. II. III. 

Religious instruction and sacred history 3 3 3 

Reading 6 6 2 

Recitation 3 3 3 

Writing 5 5 2 

French language 9 9 3 

Arithmetic, legal system of weights and measures 6 

Arithmetic, legal system of weights and measures, me- 
chanical drawing 6 

Arithmetic in its practical applications 6 

Religious music 3 3 

Music 3 

Work in the practice school * * 

Elements of geography I 

Principles of the physical sciences and of natural his- 
tory, with their applications. Agriculture, horticul- 
ture 3 

Surveying, levelling, mechanical drawing 5 

Elements of history I 

35 35 32 

* Number of hours not specified. 

1 Arrete, July 31, 1851, Gr. Ill, p. 481. 
268 



PROGRAM OF THE NORMAL SCHOOLS 269 

(2) Program of the Normal Schools ^ July 2, 1866 

(Recitations per week.) 
Year. 

I. II. III. 

Religious instruction. 2 2 2 

Pedagogy. Exposition of the best methods. Physical, 
intellectual and moral education. Organization of 

the schools I 

Writing 3 2 2 

Reading. Recitation 5 4 3 

French language 5 5 3 

Arithmetic ; legal system of weights and measures. 
Arithmetic in its practical applications. Bookkeep- 
ing 5 4 3 

Elements of geometry. Surveying and levelling 112 

Mechanical and free-hand drawing 2 2 2 

Elements of history and geography 3 3 3 

Singing and organ 3 3 3 

Principles of physics, chemistry and natural history, 

with their practical applications 2 3 3 

Agriculture and horticulture. Elementary principles of 

trade 2 3 3 

Hygiene i 

Civil papers and communal administration i 

Gymnastics 

33 32 32 

1 Circ, July 2, 1866, Gr. IV, pp. 102-103. 



270 



APPENDIX C 



(3) Daily Program Boys' Normal School at Auteuil 



Monday. 
II. 



III. 



Tuesday. 
II. 



III. 



S«-8 
8-9 



Study. 



Study. 



Breakfast. 



9-10 History, 
lo-ix French. 
11-12 French. 



12j^ 

i-a 

8-3 

3-4 

5-6 

6-7 

7-8 

8 

8J^-9 

9 



French. 

Authors. 

History. 



Authors. 
History. 
Science. 



Reading. 
Mathem. 
Geog. 


Mathem. 

Geog. 

Lit. 



Geography. 

Reading. 

Mathem. 







Luncheon. 






Lab. 


Free-hand 
drawing. 


Mechanical 
drawing. 


Manual 
training. 


Agric. 


1 Study. 


Mod. lang. 


' Mathem. 


Agric. 


Music. 


Mod. lang. 


Science. 


Pap. fold. 


1 Study. 


Mathem. 




Morale. 


Music. 1 


Mod. lang. 




Study. 






Study. 







Dinner. 

Recreation. 

Bedtime. 





I. 


Wednesday. 
II. 


III. 




I. 


Thursday. 
II. 


III. 


5J^-8 




Study. 


1 




Study. 


7-8 Morale. 


8-9 


Breakfast. 


9-10 

lO-II 

11-12 


History. 
Science. 
Mathem. 


Mathem. 
History. 
Science. 


Science. 
Mathem. 
History. 






Study. 


Model lesson. 


12j^ 


Luncheon. 


1-2 

2-3 


Free-hand 
drawing. 


Manual 
training. 


Music. 
Lit. 






^I2j^-S 

Excursion. 




3-4 


Music. 


Writing. 


Fduc. 
















5-6 


Stu 


dy. 


Mod. lang. 




Study. 




6-7 


Mod. lang. 


Su 


pervised study 
thematics. 




7-8 


Mod. lang. 


St 


udy. 


rnz 





85^-9 
9 



Dinner. 

Recreation. 

Bedtime. 





I. 


Friday. 
II. 


III. 


I. 


Saturday. 
II. 


III. 


5J^-8 




Study. 


1 


Study. 




8-9 


Breakfast. 


9-10 

lO-II 

11-12 


French. 
French. 
Science. 


Psychol. 
Science. 
French. 


Science. Mathem. 
Lit. Psychol. 
Lit. Science. 


Lit. 

Science. 
Mathem. 


Civics. 

Mathem. 

Lit. 


laj^ 


Luncheon. 


1-2 


Mechanical 
drawing. 


Lab. 


Free-hand 
drawing. 
Mod. lang. 


Writing. 


History. 


Manual 


2-3 


Mod. lang. 


French. 
History. 


Mechanical 
drawing. 


trainmg. 


3-4 


Writing. 


Music. 


Lab. 






5-6 


Mod. lang. 


Study. 


Music. 








6-7 


Morale. 






7-8 


Study. 





X-9 



Dinner. 
Recreation 
Bedtime. 



APPENDIX D 

EXAMINATIONS FOR THE HIGHER PRIMARY CERTIFICATE 
(i) Department of the Gard.^ July, 1901 

GENERAL QUESTIONS 

French Composition (boys and girls) 

In the primary school you have committed to memory and at 
the hig'her primary school you have studied several fables of La 
Fontaine. 

As you have learned to know this great fable writer better, you 
have found more reason for admiring him and loving him. 

Suppose you are writing a letter to one of your friends who is 
very fond of reading but who knows La Fontaine too little to 
recommend his fables. Tell simply and sincerely why you like 
La Fontaine. Try to make your friend s'hare your admiration 
and your sympathy for the author of so many fine works. Indi- 
cate carefully the fables that have struck you most forcibly and 
have interested you the most, and from which he himself can de- 
rive the greatest pleasure and profit. 

Science (girls) 

1. Find a fraction which reduces to }i When its terms are 
diminished by three and to }^ when they are increased by five. 

2. Cooking utensils. Common metals used in their manufac- 
ture. Advantages and disadvantages of each. Precautions to be 
taken in using them. How kept clean. 

Science (boys) 
Mathematics 
The frustum of a regular pyramid whose lateral edge d has 

1 Courrier des Examens de I'Enseigncinent Primaire, Jan. 11, 1903, pp. 
25-26. 

271 



272 APPENDIX D 

for 'bases two regular hexagons with sides a and b respectively. 
What is the total surface and the volume of the solid? 
Application : a = 3m ; b = 2m 50 ; c? = 4m 30. 

Chemistry 
Principles in the manufacture of vinegar. Processes em- 
ployed in commerce. 

Natural History 
Description of the human respiratory apparatus. Chemical 
phenomena of respiration. 

Morale (boys and girls) 
Show that drunkenness is a degrading vice, that it debases man 
below the level of the beasts. 

Drazving (boys) 
Greek fillet. 

Drazving (girls) 
Embroidery ; corner of a rug. 
Motif; bind weeds and pansies. 

SPECIAL QUESTIONS 

Agriculture 

1 . The American vines : role and use of vine growing. 

2. Treatment of limestone in the soil. 

Drazjuing 
A salt cellar. 

(2) Paris. Session of July, 1903 ^ 
general, commercial and industrial sections 

Geometry (boys) 

An obelisk is in the form of the frustum of a pyramid with a 
square base. The side of the lower base is im 50; of the upper 
base, o m 80; the height, 15m. The frustum is surmounted by 
a pyramid whose lateral faces are equilateral triangles with one 
side o m 80. 

Find the volume and the lateral surface of the obelisk. 

1 Courrier des Exanicns de I'Enseigiieinoit Primaire, Aug. 9, 1903. pp. 
500-504. 



EXAMINATION FOR HIGHER PRIMARY CERTIFICATE 273 
GENERAL AND COMMERCIAL SECTIONS 

Physics 

Suppose you buy two lenses and fasten each at the end of a 
pasteboard tube, so arranged that one will slide within the other. 

Explain the general arrangement of the lenses and the object in 
order to have : 

(i) A camera. 

(2) A telescope. 

(3) A microscope. 

Hygiene 
Principal adulterations of the common solid and liquid foods. 

INDUSTRIAL SECTION 

Physics 
Manometers. 

Natural History 

Describe briefly the human organs of sight and hearing. 

AGRICULTURAL SECTION 

1. Useful and noxious insects. Name the principal ones. Give 
some details about the bee and the June-bug. 

2. The use of flower of sulphur and the cupric solutions. In in- 
dicating the use, note what plants are to be treated thus and why. 

Arithmetic (girls) 
I invest 608 francs for thirty days and 720 francs for fifty- 
seven days at rates of interest whose difference is 2^^ per cent. 
The returns from the two investments are the same. What were 
the rates of interest? 

Physics or Chemistry 
Describe the principal experiments which prove that the air 
has weight. Deduce the explanation of atmospheric pressure and 
tell how this pressure is measured. 

Natural History 
The circulation of the blood. 

Morale 
Boys. — Show what moral lesson includes this thought of one 
of our most ancient writers: "There are tribunals, whose juris- 



274 



APPENDIX D 



diction man cannot escape : on the outside, reputation ; within, 
his conscience. 

Girls. — What is the relation 'between justice and charity? 

French Composition 

Boys. — Write a letter saying that on last Sunday you were 
present at the distribution of prizes of the ''Societe d'encourage- 
ment an hien." 

The President of the Republic was the presiding officer, thus 
indicating the importance of the occasion. 

The prize-winners were either societies which devote them- 
selves to the instruction or the succor of the lowly, or to indi- 
viduals belonging to various classes of society. 

What reflections did these incidents suggest to you? 

What is }"Our impression of the future of such a country as 
ours where all these phases of the good are thus honored? 

Girls. — Imagine that during your stay in the countr}^ two swal- 
lows came and built a nest at the window of your chamber. 

Recount what you saw and your impressions up to the time 
when the young brood took flight.^ 

Modern Languages 

Boys. — (Selections in English, German and Spanish from 
which to choose.) 

English. 

Sir Walter Scott. — Sir Walter Scott was a man full of the milk 
of human kindmess. Everybody loved him. He was never five 
miinutes in a room ere the little pets of the family, whether dumb 
or lisping, had found out his kindness for all their generation. 
One day, a dog coming toward him, he took up a big stone, threw 
it and hit the dog. The poor creature had strength enough left 
to crawl up to him and lick his feet, although he saw its leg was 
broken. The incident had given him the bitterest remorse in his 
after life. "An early circumstance of that kind, properly re- 
flected on," said Walter Scott, when relating the incident to a 
friend, " is calculated to have the best effect on one's character 
throughout life." S. Smiles. 

1 Cf. the moral tendency of this composition work as well as in the suc- 
ceeding selections from the English. 



EXAMINATION FOR HIGHER PRIMARY CERTIFICATE 275 

Girls. — (Selections in English and German from which to 
choose.) 

English. 

Power of women. — The greater part of the influence exercised 
hy women on the formation of character necessarily remains un- 
known. They accomplish their best work in the quiet seclusion 
of the home and the family, by sustained efifort and patient per- 
severance in the path of duty. Their greatest triumphs, because 
private and domestic, are rarely recorded, and it is not often, even 
in the biographies of distinguished men, that we hear of the share 
which their mothers have had in the formation of their character, 
and in giving them a bias towards goodness. Yet are they not 
on that account without their reward. The influence they have 
exercised, though unrecorded, lives after them, and goes on prop- 
agating itself in consequences forever. S. Smiles. 

Drawing 
Boys. — Copy, from a sketch, with given scale. 

Architectural ornament, after a plaster model. 
Girls. — Design interlaced capitals A and B, suitable for frame 
embroidery. 

These letters, intended for a bed coverlet, should measure ten 
centimeters in height. 



APPENDIX E 

Examination Questions Brevet £lementaire 

boys. paris, july 3, i903 ^ 

I. Spelling 
Dictation, thirty lines. Extract from Chailemel-Lacour. 
Questions on the interpretation of the text. 

II. French Composition ' 

Develop this thought : " It is impolite to write badly, for it 
makes trouble for the readers, and it is foolish, for it spoils what 
is written." Legouve. 

III. Arithmetic 

1. Theory. — Given two numbers 5544 and 936 and their 
G. C. D. 72. Find the L. C. M. 

2. Problem. — A landowner sells two parcels of land at 48.75 
francs per are. One is in the form of a rectangle lOom by 54m. 
The other is triangular, with the base 95m and the height 64m. 

With the purchase money, the proprietor bought 3% stock at 
82.29 francs. How much stock did he buy? 

IV. Writing 
A phrase taken from the dictation. 

V. Drazving 

Plan, cross-section, and elevation of a trestle. 

GIRLS. LILLE, I903 ^ 

I. Spelling 
Dictation, twenty-eight lines. Extract from Renan. 
Questions on interpretation of the text. 

1 Conrricr dcs Examens, July 26, 1903, pp. 467-469. 
- Ibid., Aug. 2, 1903, pp. 487-489. 
276 



EXAMINATION QUESTIONS 



277 



11. trench Composition 

A candidate is about to come up for the brevet elementaire. 
She writes to a member of her family who occupies a position 
that you may imagine. She asks this person to send a letter of 
recommendation to the examiners. 

The person whom the candidate approached replied in a 
friendly manner, but stated why she would not write the letter. 

Write this last letter. 

III. Arithmetic 

1. Theory. — What is a cube? If you triple the length of each 
face, establish and demonstrate the relation between the two 
cubes. 

2. Problem. — Two brothers divide a sum of 5,225 fr. 60. The 
former spends | of his part; the second loses ^ of his, and 
then each has the same sum. What were the two parts? 

IV. Writing 
The first lines of dictation. 

V. Drawing 
Design a butter-pot with two handles. 

VI. Sewing 

Make a sack 20 cm. long by 15 cm. wide, with English seams 
on the sides, a hem at the end and the mark (R. 5) thereon. 
Cuff. 



APPENDIX F 
Examination Questions Brevet Superieur 
girls. toulouse, i902 ^ 

I. Arithmetic and Science 

1. Problem. — Given an alloy of gold and copper in the propor- 
tion of 13 cu. cm. of gold to 7 cu. cm. of copper. 

Assuming the density of gold to he 19 and of copper to be 8.8, 
find the density of the alloy and its standard. 

The alloy weighs 1805 gr. 31 and is made into a rectangular 
plate 2 mm. thick, the length being twice the width. Find these 
last two dimensions to within i mm. 

2. Science. — Chlorine ; preparation, physical and chemical prop- 
erties, most important uses. 

II. French Composition 
Comment on this expression : 

" Speech has been given to man for thought ; thought for truth 
and virtue." 

III. Modern Languages 

1. Sixteen lines of poetry to be translated into English or Span- 
ish, according to the choice of the candidate present. 

2. Likewise a translation from one of these languages into 
French. 

The English selection is as follows : 

"The choice of books. How shall you know what to read? 
A very important question, for some books will really injure, if 
they do not destroy you. Others wnll have no positive effect; 
but from all a tincture, like that left upon the mind by the com- 
pany you keep, will remain. Do not expect to read all, or even 
a small part of what comes out and is recommended in this age 
of books. You take up a book and read a chapter. How shall 

1 Courrier des Examens, Feb. 8, 1903, pp. 83-86. 
278 



EXAMINATION QUESTIONS 



279 



you know whether it is worth your reading without reading it 
through ? In the same way that you would know whether a cask 
of wine was good. If you draw one glass, or two, and find them 
stale and unpleasant, do you need to drink off the whole cask to 
decide that you do not want it? I have somewhat else to do, in 
the short day allotted to me, than to read whatever anyone else 
may think it his duty to write." 

IV. Drawing 
Design one-quarter of a tea napkin. Richelieu embroidery. 
Character of the ornamentation is left to the choice of the can- 
didate. Size, 16 cm. square. 

BOYS. PARIS. JULY 16-I7, I903 ^ 

I. Arithmetic and Science 

1. Problem. — On the inside of each side of a square as a diam- 
eter, describe a semi-circumference. Calculate the side of the 
square, if the area of the rosace thus formed is 30 qm. 87. 

Assume ■^ = ^-^. 

2. Science. — Ordinary or ethyl alcohol. Its formation, physi- 
cal and chemical properties, principal derivatives and their uses. 
Different commercial methods of manufacture. Fermented 
liquors, their manufacture. Action of alcohol on the body. 
Alcoholism, its dangers, means to combat it. 

II. French Composition 

Develop and criticize this thought of La Bruyere : "A man of 
fashion lives but for a time, for fashions pass away: if, by 
chance, he is a man of merit, he is not effaced, for he lives still 
by virtue of some good qualit>- ; so, worthy of esteem, he is, how- 
ever, less esteemed." 

III. Modern Languages 

1. Eight lines from Rousseau to be translated into English or 
German according to the choice of the candidate. 

2. Likewise a translation from one of those languages into 
French. 

The English selection is as follows : 

"A genius developed by accident. — Sir Isaac Newton was the 

1 Courrier des Examens. Aug. 9, 1903. pp. 497-500. 



28o APPENDIX F 

most remarkable mathematician and philosopher of his own or 
perhaps of any other age. He was born in the year 1642, a year 
dou'bly remarkable by his birth and the death of Galileo. We 
•owe his great discovery to a very trivial accident. When a stu- 
dent at Cambridge he had retired during the plague into the 
country. As he was reading under an apple tree in his garden 
at Woolsthorpe one of the fruit fell and struck him a smart blow 
on the head. When he observed the smallness of the apple, he 
was surprised at the force of the stroke. This led him to con- 
sider the accelerating motion of falling bodies, from whence he 
deduced the principle of gravity and laid the foundation of his 
philosophy." I. Disraeli. 

IV. Dratving 
Rosace (no. 2933 of the catalogue of the Ecole des Beaux- 
Arts.) 



APPENDIX G 

Written Examination Questions. Certificat d' Aptitude 

Pedagogique 

(The time allowed in each case was three hours.) 

department of the cote-d'or, 1902 ^ 
Mental arithmetic. Its importance. Explain how you assure 
the application of the program in your school or your class, and 
with what results. 

department of the vosges, 1902 ^ 

Develop this thought oi Jules Simon : " Education is a process 
by which a spirit moulds a spirit, and a mind develops a mind." 

Show how a teacher can and ought to realize this in a primary 
school. 

department of the aube, 1902 ^ 

What is meant by civic instruction ? Emphasize its importance 
in a democratic republic. 

How shall civic instruction be directed in order to produce the 
best possible results? Necessity of giving it an intuitive charac- 
ter. Indicate in detail the means of accomplishing this. 

(In treating this subject, men should have boys' schools in 
mind, and women should have girls' schools.) 

department of the puy-de-d6me, 1902 * 
What means do you use for developing in your pupils the idea^ 
of justice and cooperation? 

1 Coiirrier des Examens, Feb. 8, 1903, p. 81. 

^ Ibid., Jan. 11, 1903, p. 17. 

8 Ibid., Feb. 15, 1903, p. 97. 

^ Ibid., Feb. 22, 1903, p. 113. 

281 



APPENDIX H 

EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. CERTIFICATE FOR PRIMARY 

INSPECTOR 

I. Written. Pedagogy ^ 

i8p6. 2d Session. 
" The art of teaching does noit consist in descending- to the level 
of your pupil, but in raising him to yours." (Jules Simon.) 
Develop and comment upon this thought. 

iSggi. 1st Session 
Women. — The education of the ccole maternellc. What should 
be its principles? 

1899. ^d Session 
All teachers ought to teach their children ideas of order and 
economy. How can they do this discreetly ? How avoid the ex- 
aggeration of these qualities into defects from w^hich it is partic- 
ularly important to keep children ? 

I goo. 1st Session 

What is meant in primary education by " preparation for the 
class?" 

How would you make the teachers that have spent several years 
in the service understand that one must " prepare for the class " 
all one's life? 

SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION ^ 

i8p6. 2d Session 
Powers and duties of the director of a school who is relieved 
from class work. 

i8pp. 1st Session 
The primary certificate. How was it organized? What mod- 

^ Ulnspection de I'Enseignement Primairc, pp. 52-53. 
2 Op. cit., pp. 61-62. 
282 



EXAMINATION QUESTIONS 283 

ification has it undergone? What do you think of the criticisms 
against it? 

iSgp. 2d Session 
What are the obligations of the commune in reference to pri- 
mary education? 

IQOO. 1st Session 
The higher primar}" schools. General organization and teach- 
ing force. 

(Avoid any detailed discussion of the programs.) 

II. Oral. Pedagogy ^ 

(Each candidate 'has only one of the following questions. He 
is allowed two hours by himself in which to collect his thoughts 
and prepare his answer.) 

In your opinion, how can a teacher extend his educational in- 
fluence outside and beyond the school ? 

How would you regulate the use of monitors in the elementary 
school ? 

As primary inspector, each year you have to examine the daily 
programs which your teachers submit to you. Indicate what 
general rules would guide you in this examination. 

Reading in the primary school ; in the class ; in the home. 

SCHOOL LEGISLATION AND ADMINISTRATION ^ 

Regulations in the case of suppressing a public primary school. 

Powers and diuties of the primary inspector in examinations. 

Right of opposition to the opening of private schools. Closing 
of these schools. 

Administrative councils of the primary normal schools. Com- 
position ; powers. 

1 Op. cit., pp. loo-ioi. 

2 Op. cit., p. 102. 



APPENDTX i 
(i) Girls' Normal School at 

Menus April 26th to May 2d, 1903. 

Dessert of the 
professors. 
Breakfast. .Tea; Boiled eggs. 

Sunday Dinner Meat broth ; Beef ; Radishes ; 

Spinach, white sauce ; Oranges. Oranges. 

Supper Rabbit slew; Stewed prunes; 

Cream cheese. Cream cheese. 

Breakfast. .Soup; Chestnut puree. 

Monday Dinner Soup; Potato croquettes; Fried 

eggs. Chestnut puree. 

Supper Beef; Spinach. Cheese. 

Breakfast. .Rice soup; Raisins. 

Tuesday Dinner Soup; Meat pie; Potato puree. Raisins. 

Supper Roast veal ; Carrots. Oranges. 

Breakfast. .Vermicelli soup; Chestnut pre- 
serves. 

Wednesday. . Dinner Soup ; Roast mutton ; Lima beans. Fresh cakes. 

Supper Roast beef; Rice. Cheese. 

Breakfast. .Rice soup; Stick chocolate. 
Thursday. . . .Dinner Meat broth ; Beef ; Fried pota- 
toes ; Fresh cakes. Fresh cakes. 

Supper Beef a la mode; Cheese; Stewed 

prunes. 

Breakfast. .Soup; Chestnut puree. 
Friday Dinner Soup; Sardines; Radishes; Mac- 
aroni with cheese. Chestnut puree. 
Supper Apple omelet; Peas. Cheese. 

Breakfast. .Rice soup; Raisins. 

Saturday . . . .Dinner Soup ; Sliced veal ; Spinach, 

white sauce. Fresh cakes. 

Supper Roast lamb; Spinach. Oranges. 

(Bread is served at each meal, and at dinner a half bottle of wine i3 
allowed each person.) 
284 



MENUS 



285 



(2) Girls' Normal School at 



Menus May i8tii to 2Sth, 1903. 

Dessert of the 
professors. 
Breakfast. .Coflfee; Butter. 
Monday Dinner Soup; Stew with beans; Pre- 
serves. 
Supper Roast beef; Spinach. Whipped cream. 

Breakfast. .Coffee; Butter. 

Tuesday Dinner Soup; Boiled beef; Split peas. Cheese. 

Supper Roast veal; Macaroni. Oranges. 

Breakfast. .Coffee ; Butter. 

Wednesday. .Dinner Soup; Beefsteak; Fried potatoes. Cherries. 

Supper Roast mutton; Lentils. Creamed eggs. 

Breakfast. .Chocolate. 

Thursday. .. .Dinner Soup; Ham; Artichokes. Tarts. 

Supper Roast beef; Salad; Cakes. Preserves. 

Breakfast. .Coffee; Butter. 

Friday Dinner Soup ; Fish ; Potatoes and butter. Cakes. 

Supper Omelet; Spinach; Cheese. Cheese. 

Breakfast. .Coffee; Butter. 
Saturday . . . .Dinner Soup; Boiled beef; Beans. Kisses. 

Supper Roast veal; Potato puree. Chocolate 

pudding. 

Breakfast. .Coffee ; Butter. 
Sunday Dinner Soup; Roast pork; Split peas. Asparagus; Tarts. 

Supper Roast mutton; Salad; Preserves. Cakes. 

(Bread is served at each meal, and at dinner a half bottle of wine is 
allowed each person.) 



APPENDIX J 

Boys' Normal School at Lyon. £cole Annexe 

(i) points to be followed by critic teacher in appreciating 
PUPIL teacher's work 

1. Writing. 

2. Preparation for class. 

(a) Materials. 

(b) Written. 

3. Exposition of lessons. 

4. Correction of home work. 

5. Condition of note-books. 

6. Discipline. 

7. Supervision of recreation. 

8. Relations with the children. 

9. Attitude of the master, 
ID. General appreciation. 

(2) ACTUAL criticism OF A PUPIL BY THE DIRECTOR 

ist Tour 

" This is a very poor week. 

" The only encouragement is that j-ou can do better if j'ou wish. 
I see here an aggravation of your mistakes. You can do well 
and you do poorly. 

" Have you considered that you are the son of a director of an 
ecole annexe and that you will be a teacher in a few months? 

" If the next week does not show distinct progress, I shall be 
very uneasy for your future as a teacher and for that of your 
pupils. 

" I hope you will arouse yourself." 

2d Tour 
" Results this week prove that you can do well. You are then 
d)cmbly culpable when you do poorly. I hope this is not an iso- 
lated or exceptional effort. Men — and children too — are not 
judged' by what they can do, but by what they do. Take courage." 
2S6 



BOYS' NORMAL SCHOOL AT LYON 
(3) PSYCHOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS (bY PUPIL TEACHER) 

Name of pupil 

Age 



287 



Physical 

condition 



.{ 



Temperament. ^ 



Cours 

Temperament and normal state of health. 
Sense organs, especially the eye and ear. 

{Native and dominant tend'encies. 
Characteristic sentiments. 
Characteristic tastes. 



I Qualities. 



Intelligence. 



General 

appreciation 
of pupil. 



The will. , „ . 

i^aults. 

Conduct of pupil. 

Appreciation of moral worth. 

1. Kind of attention (application). 

2. Normally developed faculties (remarks). 

3. Insufficiently developed faculties (remarks). 

4. Appreciation of intellectual power (qualities 

and defects of the mind). 
Characteristic tendencies. 

r Physical condition. 
Very careful judgment. ) Temperament. 

C Intelligence. 



CRITICISM BY DIRECTOR ON PUPIL's OBSERVATIONS 

" Good attempt at analysis. You have very properly insisted 
on the causes of the phenomena observed. Try to compare and 
draw conclusions from these observations. 

" Continue to study the same pupil. Consult with your school 
fellows on certain particular points." 

(4) OUTLINE TO BE FOLLOWED BY THE PUPIL IN NOTING THE 

DIFFICULTIES HE HAS FOUND IN THE PREPARATION OF HIS 

LESSONS, AND HIS METHOD IN SOLVING THEM 

Plan of the rapport personnel ^ (by pupil teacher) 
I. Preparation for the class. 

A. Preparation of materials. 

B. Written preparation ; difficulties met. 

a. Concerning the choice and gradation of the lesson. 



1 Cf. ch. XI, p. 222. 



288 APPENDIX J 

h. Concerning the plan (general idea, subordinate 

ideas, details), 
c. Concerning the choice of method and processes. 
C. How have you solved these difficulties and what prog- 
ress do you think you have made? 

II. Lessons. 

A. Questions. 

B. Methods and processes of development, 

C. Adaptation of ideas and language. 

Recall in each subject the difficulties encountered, the means 
employed to solve them and the results obtained, so far as you are 
concerned. 

III. Home work. 

A. Preparation of pupils. 

B. Correction and report (French composition). 

The difficulties encountered. Results obtained, so far as you 
are concerned. 

IV. Condition of note-books. 

Toward what have you directed }X)ur efforts? What difficul- 
ties have you met? What means employed to solve them? Re- 
sults obtained? 

V. Discipline. 

A. In class. 

B. In recreation. 

What good habits in general or particular have you tried to 
instil? Difficulties encountered? Results obtained? ist, from 
the teacher's standpoint ; 2d, from the pupil's standpoint. 

VI. Conclusion. General view of principal difficulties encoun- 
tered, of means employed to solve them, and of those you will use 
in the future. Personal progress made. What pedagogical qual- 
ity do you most lack ? Resolutions. 

N. B. In the interest of the pupil teacher, this work should be 
done in all sincerity. 

director's criticism on a pupil's notes of the above 

" You have touched too lightly on the difficulties encountered 

and the means employed to surmount them. Useless details in 

certain places. Nevertheless your account is interesting and, I 

believe sincere. It should have been a profitable study for you." 



APPENDIX K 

Bibliography 

The authorities used in the preparation of this account of the 
French schools were almost entirely French, the chief exceptions 
being the articles from the English Educational Department 
Special Reports on Educational Subjects, and these mainly for the 
facts personally observed by the writers. The other works in 
English are cited here for the convenience of those to whom the 
French books may not be readily available. 

For further literature relating to education in France, see the 
bibliography appended to each chapter of the 

Rapport sur I' organisation et la situation de I'enseigncnient pri- 
maire public en France. Paris, Imprimerie Nationale, 1900; also 

Columbia University Library Bulletin No. 2. Books on Educa- 
tion in the Libraries of Columbia University. N. Y., 1901 ; and 

Cubberley, E. P. Syllabus of Lectures on the History of Educa- 
tion. N. Y., 1902. 

I. Primary Sources 
Annuaire de I'enseignement primaire. Armand Colin, publisher. Paris. 

Published yearly since 1886. 
Annuaire de I'instruction publique et des beaux-arts. Delalain Freres, 
publishers. Paris. 

Published yearly since 1851. 
Anthoine, E. a travers nos ecoles. Souvenirs posthumes. Paris, 1887. 

10 -f 350 p. 
Carrive, Pierre. La nouvelle legislation de I'enseignement primaire; 
suivie du texte des lois, decrets, arretes, circulaires et programmes. 
(May 19, 1874— July 19, 1889.) Paris, 1889. 14 + 658 p. 
Comptabilite des ecoles normales primaires; guide legal et administratif 

des economes. Mem. et doc. sco. No. 61. Paris, 1888. 124 p. 
CoNDORCET. Rapport et projet de decret sur Torganisation generale de 
instruction publique, presentes a I'Assemblee nationale, au nom du 
Comite d'instruction publique, les 20 et 21 avril 1792, Tan 4 de la li- 
berte. Paris, 1782. 94 p. 

289 



290 



APPENDIX K 



DuRUY, Victor. Circulaires et instructions officielles relatives a I'instruc- 
tion publique. (1863-1869.) Paris. 24 -|- 716 p. 

Gratuite de I'enseignement primaire. Cf. Rapport a I'Empereur du 
6 mars 1865 sur I'etat de I'enseignement primaire en France pendant 
I'annee 1863, in L'administration de I'instruction publique de 1863- 
1869, pp. 188-21 1. 

Administration de rinstruction publique. (1863-1869.) Paris. 24 
-f 932 p. 

EsTOURNELLES de CONSTANT, Jean d'. Lois et reglements sur I'enseigne- 
ment primaire. (Mar. 15, 1850 — July 31, 1890.) Paris, 1890. 1108 p. 

ficoles normales. Adresse de plusieurs eleves de I'ecole normale, a la Con- 
vention, lue dans la seance du 5 floreal, an III. (Apr. 25, 1795.) 
Paris. 12 p. 

Memoire sur la necessite d'etablir dans Paris une maison d'institu- 
tion pour former des maitres. et quelques colleges pour les basses 
classes. (Two memoirs: I. 28 p., II. 34 p. — date Oct. 25, 1762.) 

Rapport fait a la commission des ecoles normales, sur I'etat de I'en- 
seignement dans les ecoles normales en general, et particulierement 
dans celles des academies d' Amiens, Douai, Metz, Nancy, Strasbourg 
et Dijon. 23 Oct., 1845. Manuscript. 20 p. 

Fontenay-aux-Roses. Sujets de concours pour I'admission a I'ecole nor- 
male superieure d'enseigncment primaire, de I'origine a 1897. (Section 
des lettres.) Paris. 74 p. 

France. Budget des depenses de I'exercice de 1903. Ministere de I'in- 
struction publique et des beaux-arts. Paris, 1903. 181 p. 

Bulletin administratif du ministere de I'instruction publique et des 
beaux-arts. 1850- 

New and present series began 1864. Published monthly until 
1881, and weekly since that time. 

Circulaires et instructions officielles relatives a I'instruction publique. 
1802- 

Still continued. 12 volumes through 1900. 

Extraits du bulletin de I'instruction primaire. Lois, arretes, instruc- 
tions. Departement de la Seine. 1866-1877. Paris, 1878. 24 + 885 p. 

Inspection academique. (Direction de I'enseignement primaire.) 
Paris, 1900. 18 -\- 628 p. 

Inspection de I'enseignement primaire. Paris, 1900. 6 -\- 435 p. 

Rapport sur I'organisation et la situation de I'enseignement primaire 
public en France. Paris, 1900. 15 -|- 628 p. 

Statistique de I'enseignement primaire. 

A quinquennial publication begun in 1877. Volume II covers the 
period from 1829 to 1877. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 201 

GoBRON, Louis. Legislation et jurisprudence de renseigncment public et 
de I'enseignement prive en France et en Algerie. Paris, 1900. 995 p. 

Greard, Octa\'e. Legislation de I'instruction primaire en France depuis 
1789 jusqu' a nos jours. 2^ edition. Paris. 7 v. (1789-1900.) 

Lakanal, Joseph. Rapport sur I'organisation des ecoles normales. In 
Celestin Hippeau. Instruction publique en France pendant la revo- 
lution. Pp. 408-422. Paris, 1881. 

Paris, Ville de. Budget de I'exercice de 1903. Paris, 1903. 284 p. 

Petit, Edouard. Rapport sur I'education populaire en 1899-1900. Alinis- 
tere de I'instruction publique et des beaux-arts. Paris, 1900. 

PiCHARD, A. E. Nouveau code de I'instruction primaire. Paris, 1900. 
20 + 764 p. 

Plan d'etudes et programmes d'enseignement. Collection Delalain. 
No. 66. ficoles maternelles. 19 p. 
No. 65. ficoles primaires elementaires. 41 p. 
No. 64. ficoles primaires superieures (gargons). 72 p. 

ficoles primaires superieures (fiUes). 57 p. 
No. 61. ficoles normales. 45 p. 

Rendu, A. Considerations sur les ecoles normales primaires de France. 
2® edition. Paris, 1849. 8 -j- 92 p. 

Resbecq, E. de. Code de I'enseignement primaire. Lois, decrets et arretes. 
Paris, 1887. 4 -f 350 p. 
Covers the period Mar. 15, 1850 — Mar. 26, 1887. 

Saint-Cloud. Sujets de concours pour I'admissiona I'ecole normale supe- 
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tres.) Paris. 66 p. 

Salvandy, de, (Ministre.) Instruction primaire: Rapport au roi, cham- 
bre des deputes, 12 avril 1847. Expose des motifs du projet de loi. 
Paris, 1847. 50 p. 

ScHMiT, Henri. L'organisation de I'enseignement primaire. Commen- 
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543 P- 

Villemain. (Ministre.) La situation de I'instruction primaire en 1840. 
Rapport au roi. Paris, 1841. 54 p. 

II. Secondary Sources 

Allain, E. L'oeuvre scolaire de la revolution. 1789-1802. Etudes critiques 
et documents inedits. Paris, 1891. 7 + 436 p. 

Allard. Ecoles normales primaires. Recueil methodique des lois, ordon- 
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292 APPENDIX K 

Aknold, Matthew. Special Report on Certain Points connected with Ele- 
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1886. 27 p. 

Systems of Popular Education in Use in France, Holland, and the 
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Barrau, Th. H. De I'education morale de la jeunesse a I'aide des ecoles 
normales primaires. Paris, 1840. 8 -\- 284 p. 

Beard, Mary S. ficoles maternelles of Paris. English Board of Educa- 
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Brereton, Cloudesley. Rural Schools of Northwest France. English 
Board of Education, Special Reports on Educational Subjects. Vol. 
Vn. No. I. London, 1902. Pp. 1-244. 

Brouard, Eugene. Essai d'histoire de I'instruction primaire en France, de 
1789 jusqu' a nos jours. Paris, 1901. 8 -j- 360 p. 

BuissoN, Ferdinand. Classes enfantines : Documents legislatifs et admi- 
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113 P- 

Dictionnaire de pedagogic et d'instruction primaire. 2 pts. 4 v. 
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Clerc, Alexis Jules. Organisation et administration materielle des ecoles 
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Compayre, Gabriel. Contemporary Educational Thought in France. 
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Histoire critique des doctrines de I'education en France depuis le 
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DuPLAN. Enseignement primaire a Paris. Paris, 1889. 2 v. 

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France. Ministere de instruction publique et des beaux-arts. Recueil 
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II. Various grades of schools, including normal schools. 
III. Musee pedagogique, school libraries, teachers' certificates, teach- 
ers' conferences. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



293 



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Hughes, R. E. Making of Citizens. A study in comparative education. ^ 
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JosT, GuiLLAUME. Les examens du personnel de I'enseignement primaire. 
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Lavisse, Ernest. Enseignement de I'histoire a I'ecole primaire in Ques- 
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L'exposition du ministere de I'instruction publique. Revue peda- 
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Lebon, Andre and Paul Relet. France as It Is. Mrs. William Arnold, 
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LivEQUE (Directeur). L'ecole J. B. Say; Rapport presente au comite de 
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294 APPENDIX K 

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Matrat, IMarie. Histoire de I'education enfantine publique. Rec. des 
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N 


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Vol. 




Pp. 95-108. 


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INDEX 



The following abbreviations are used in this index: cl. en., classe enfantine; com. 
and ind. s., commercial and industrial school; ec. m., ecole maternelle; e. p. s., ele- 
mentary primary school; h. p. s, higher primary school; n. s., normal school; 
p. h. n. s., primary higher normal school; s., school; ss., schools. The other 
abbreviations will readily be understood. 



Absence on account of illness, teacher's, 

67 
Academies, 12, 26 

Academy inspector, 30; duties, 31 ; 
powers, 34; relations with prefect, ;i2> 
with rector, 32 
Adjoint, 28 

Agricultural course, in h. p. ss., 128 
Agriculture, in e. p. ss., 1 15-1 16; in h. p. 
ss., 135; in n. ss., 146, 150, 156, 
160, 165, 190, 192, 208, 209; in n. 
s. of the Convention, 143. See 
also Gardening. 
In exam, for elementary diploma, 
228; higher diploma, 232 
Aid, State, 54, 55, 84; for h. p. ss., 122 
Aiken and Barbauld, modern language 

requirements in n. ss., 203 
Alcoholism, crusade against, 194, 195, 207 
Algebra, study of, in n. ss., 166, 205, 206 
Algeria, n. s. established in 1865, 159 
Arithmetic, in e. p. ss., method, 103-104, 
109; in p. ss. under Napoleon, 145 
Study of, in ec. m., and cl. en., 76- 
77; in e. p. ss., 106, 109-110, 117, 
145; in La Salle's seminary, 140; 
in n. ss., 146, 150, 156, 165, 180, 
205-206 
Armentieres, national professional s., 19, 

127 
Arnold, Matthew, quoted, 107 
Arrete, meaning, 17 
Astronomy, study of, in n. ss., 147, 150 
Auteuil, model lessons, 223-224; physical 
examination, 216; practice teaching, 
220 ; science instruction, 207; student 
reading, 184 

Baccalaureat, 14, 240 
Bar^re, proposition for a n. s. by, 142 
Bar le-Duc, n. s., 147 
Barrau, pamphlet against n. ss., 155 
Batignolles, 64, 76; model lessons, 224- 
225; practice teaching, 219 



Bayet, M., director of primary education* 
quoted, 226 

Beauvais, preparatory year for Saint- 
Cloud, 248 

Bell-Lancaster system, 100 

Berthelot, quoted, 47 

Berthollet, teacher in the n. s. of the Con- 
vention, 142 

Biography, national, study of, in ec. m., 77 

Bookkeeping, study of, in com. and ind. 
ss., 135, 136; in h. p. ss., 135, 136; in 
n. ss., 160, 205 

Botany, study of, in n, ss., 208-209; in 
p. h. n. s., 244 

Brevet de capacity, 29, 227 

Brevet elementaire, 75, 132, 178,226-227, 
237, Appendix E. 

Brevet superieur, 60, 170, 178, 191, 226- 
227, 237, 240, 241-242, Appendix F. 

Budget, national, for education, 18-19; 
in 1902, 169 

Budget, Paris, educational, 19 

Budget, p. h. n. ss., 252 

Buisson, director of primary education, 
163 

Bureaus, ministry of public instruction, 19 

Cahiers. See Note-books. 

Caisse d'ecole, 48 

Calligraphy, study of, in n. s., 146, 150 

Cantme scolaire. See School kitchen. 

Cantonal delegates, 38, 46, 47 

Carter, James G., influence for Massachu- 
setts n. ss., 154 

Centralization of educational system, 15 

Certificat d'aptitude au professorat, 122, 
246 

Certificat d'aptitude pedagogique, 29, 61, 
178, 226, 234-236, Appendix G. 

Certificat d'etudes primaires. See Certifi- 
cate, primary. 

Certificate, primary, 116-119, Appendix B. 

Certificate, teaching, 175, chap. xi. 

Chalmet, proposition for h. n, s., 166 
297 



298 



INDEX 



Channing, in n. s. curriculum, 196 
Chemistry, in exam, for elementary di- 
ploma, 228; for higher diploma, 
231 and note, 232; for p. h. n. s., 
241, 242 
Study of, in com. and ind. ss., 135; 
in h, p. ss., 135; in n. ss., 173, 
180, 190, 192, 206 ff.; in n. s. of 
the Convention, 143; in p. h, n. 
ss., 244, 250 
Civics, in exam, for elementary diploma, 
228 
Study of, in com. and ind. ss., 135, 
136; in h. p. ss., 135, 136; in n. 
ss., 165, 166, 190, 192 
Classe, 62 n. 
Classe enfantine, 12, 73,218; curriculum, 

80 
Club, English, at Auteuil, 183 
Co-education, 57, 80-81 
College, 63, 95; distinguished from lyc6e, 

12 
Comenius, influence on method, 258; in 

n. s. curriculum, 195 
Comit6 consultatif, 22 
Comite d'instruction publique, 16 
Comite de patronage, 28, 32 
Comite du contentieux, 18 
Commerce, Minister, partial control over 

some ss., 124-125 
Commercial course, in h. p. ss., 128 
Commission de surveillance, early n. ss., 
151; in n. ss., 1851, 157; in n. ss., 
1861, 158; in n. ss., 1866, 161 
Commission scolaire, 47-49, 92 
Committee of patronage, 133 
Communes, financial responsibility, 53-56; 
refusing to support ss., 56; without ss., 

53-54 
Compayre, history of education, text-book 

in n. ss., 195; quoted, 59 
Composition, in exam, for elementary di- 
ploma, 228; for higher diploma, 
231 
Study of, in n. ss., 180, 196; in p. h. 
n. ss., 244, 250 
Compulsory attendance, 48, 50, 54, 82 
Conferences, pedagogical, in n. ss., 159; 

teachers', 44-45 
Congreganiste ss., 84 
Congregations, 74, 108. See also Religious 

bodies. 
Conseil, academique, 20, 29 
Conseil, de I'universite, 20 
Conseil departemental, II, 20, 35, 38, 39, 

46, 51, 52, 54, 55, 70, 84, 128, 178. See 

also Council, departmental. 
Conseil general du d^partement, 11, 51, 

52, 56, 171. 
Conseil superieur, 17, 20, 71 
Conseillers generaux, 52 



Consulting committee, 22 

Content studies, 257 

Control, student, in n. ss., 161 

Convention, attitude toward n. ss., 142 

Corner, Miss, modern language require- 
ments, in n. ss., 203 

Correlation, lack of, 16 

Cosmography, study of in p. h. n. s., 244 

Council, departmental, 36; powers, 37-39 

Council, superior, 20 

Cours, 62 n, 95-97, 130 

Cours complementaire, 12, 95, 120, 122, 
123, 124, 128 

Cours superieur, 130, 132 

Creative instinct, development of, 258 

Critic teachers, 221 ff 

Decret, meaning, 17 

Delegues cantonaux. See Cantonal dele- 
gates. 
Department, financial responsibility, 5 1-53 
Descriptive geometry, in n. s. of the Con- 
vention, 143 
Dictation, in exam, for elementary di- 
ploma, 227 
Diploma, elementary, 227-230; higher, 
230-234; secondary, 240. See also 
brevet elementaire, brevet superieur, 
certificat. 
Discipline, 97-99, 180-181 
Divisions, civil and political, 1 1 
Domestic economy, study of, in girls' n. 

ss., 209-210 
Dormitories in n. ss., 172-173 
Douai, n. s., 172, 173 
Drawing, in exam, for elementary di- 
ploma, 228; for higher diploma, 
231 n, 232; for p. h. n. ss., 241- 
242 
Study of, in com. and ind. ss., 135, 
136; in ec. m. and cl. en., 76, 77; 
in e. p. ss., 106; in h. p. ss., 135 ff; 
in n. ss., 146, 150, 156, 165, 173, 
176, 177, 180, 190, 192, 210, 211; 
in p. h. n. ss., 244, 250 
Duplan, M., quoted, 121 
Duruy, influence over the n. ss., 159-162; 
minister, 1863-1869, 158-159 

Ecole annexe, 174, 177, 218, Appendix J.; 
in 1851, 156-157; in 1866, i6o-i6i. 
See also Practice schools. 

Ecoles d'application, 218 n. See also 
Practice schools. 

Ecoles manuelles d'apprentissage, 12, 73, 
120, 124 

Ecoles maternelles, 12, 73, 177; condi- 
tions for establishing, 74; curriculum, 
76-80, 96; teachers not specially 
trained, 75 

Ecoles pratiques de commerce et d'indus- 



INDEX 



299 



trie, 126; program compared with that 
of h. p. ss., 134-136 
Ecoles primaires elementaires. See Ele- 
mentary primary schools. 
Ecoles primaires superieures, 12, 95, 251. 

See also Higher primary schools. 
Ecoles professionnelles, 120, 124, 127 
Econome, 32, 173, 174, 251 
Education, history of, Fontenay-aux- 
Roses, 245; in n. ss., 195-196; in p. 
h. n. s., 245 
Education, in exam, for higher diploma, 

232 
Elementary primary schools, 81-83, 95, 
106, 107 
Subjects of instructioia in, 106-116; 
agriculture, 115-116; arithmetic, 
109; geography, 111-113; geom- 
etry, no; gymnastics, 11 3-1 14; 
history, III-II3; manual work, 
114-115; military drill, 1 13-1 14; 
morale, 107; reading, in; sing- 
ing, 113; writing, in 
Eleves-maitres. See Pupil teachers. 
Eligible list of teachers, 62 
Elocution, study of, in p. h. n. s., 244 
English, study of, in ec. m., 77, 78. See 

also Modern languages. 
Enseignement libre, 20 
Esthetic environment, 254 
Ethics, in exam, for higher diploma, 231 

n, 232; for p. h. n. ss., 241 
Examen de passage, in n. ss., 186-187 
Examinations, entrance for n. ss., 161; 
for certiticat d'aptitude pedagogique. 
Appendix G.; for elementary diploma, 
227 ff, Appendix E.; for higher di- 
ploma, 231 ff. Appendix F. ; in e. p. ss., 
116-119, Appendix B.; in n. ss., 186- 
187 
Excursions, school, 171-172, 185 
Extension courses, at early n. ss., 152 

Falloux law of 1850, against n. ss., 155- 
156 

Fees, abolished in n. ss., 164; in second- 
ary ss., 13 

Fenelon, in n. s. curriculum, 195 

Ferry, Minister, 163 

Finance, 49-56; State, 49-51, 54; de- 
partment, 51-53; commune, 53-56 

Fontenay-aux-Roses, 51, 88, 163, 175, 
225, chap. xi. ; budget, 252; daily pro- 
gram, 244; entrance exams., 241-243; 
life at the school, 239; opened in 1880, 
166, 238; practice teaching, 225; 
teachers, 243 

Form studies, 257 

Fortoul, Minister, in 1854, 157 

Fourtou, Minister, 163 

Francke, n. s. of, 141, 142 



Franco-Prussian war, effect on n. ss., 162 

Franklin, h. p. s. at Lille, 212 

Free education law, 164 

Free ss , 50, 54, 82 

Froebel, slight influence on ec. m., 75 

Games, in ec. m. and cl. en., 76 
Gardening, instruction in, in n. s., 159, 

165, 191 
Geography, in exam, for elementary di- 
ploma, 228; for higher diploma, 
231 n, 232; for p. h. n. ss., 241-242 
Study of, in com. and ind. ss., 135, 
136; in ec. m., 77; in e. p. ss., 106, 
III ff, 117; in h. p. ss., 135, 136; 
in n. ss., 146, 15c, 156, 160, 165, 
180, 190, 192, 198; in n. s. of the 
Convention, 143; in p. h. n. ss., 
244, 250 
Geology, study of, in p, h. n. s., 244 
Geometry, in exam, for higher diploma, 
231 
Study of, in e. p. ss., IIO-III; in n. 
ss., 147, 150, 160, 165, 205, 206 
German, study of in n. ss., 146, 150. See 

also Modern languages. 
Germany, influence of, upon Strassburg 

n. s., 145 
Girls' ss., separate, 54, Zt, 
Goblet law, 49 
Goethe, modern language requirements, 

n. ss., 203 
Grammar, in exam, for higher diploma, 
231 n; for p. h. n. ss., 241, 242 
Study of,, in n. ss., 150, 196; in n. s. 
of the Convention, 143; in p. h. n. 
s., 244 
Grenoble, preparatory year for Saint- 
Cloud, 247 
Guizot, influence of, on n. ss., 148-149, 
152; testifies to success of Strassburg 
s., 146 
Gymnasiums, in n. ss., 214-215 
Gymnastics, in e. p. ss., 106, 11 3-1 14; in 
h. p. ss., 135, 136; in n. ss., 146, 
147, 150, 156, 165, 176, 190, 192, 
213 ff ; in p. h. n. s., 244 
In exam, for elementary diploma, 
228 

Heine, modern language requirements in 
n. ss., 203 

Helfedange, n. s., 147, 150 

Higher primary schools, 166, chap, xii; 
aim, 139; certificate in, 138; courses, 
128; development, 121; dual control, 
124-127; entrance exam., 130; estab- 
lishment, 128-129; examinations, 131 
Appendix D.; fees, 131; function 
138-139; modern language methods 
203-204; practical nature of the work 



300 



INDEX 



137; programs, 134-137; pupils, 130- 
131; purpose, 120; scholarships, 132- 
133; social class of pupils, 130-131; 
teachers, 62, 66, 67, 129, 130, 167 
History, in exam, for elementary diploma, 
228; for higher diploma, 231 n; 
232; for p. h. n. ss., 241, 242 
Study of, in com. and ind. ss., 135, 
136; in ec. m., 77; in e. p, ss., 
106, III ff, 117; in h. p. ss., 135, 
136; in n. ss., 147, 150, 156, 160, 
165, 180, 190, 192, 197; in n. s. of 
the Convention, 143; in p. h. n. 
ss., 244, 250 
Weakness in, 198 
Holidays, 105 

Hundred Days, n. s., during, 145 
Hygiene, study of, in com. and ind. ss., 
135; in h. p. ss., 135 ff; in n. ss., 147, 
150, 156, 190, 192, 207 

Indemnity, residential, primary inspector, 

51; teacher, 53, 55, 68, 74 
Industrial course, in h. p. ss., 128 
Industrial work, in national professional 

ss., 127-128 
Initiative, lack of, 101-102 
Inspecteur d'academie. See Academy 

inspector. 
Inspecteur general, 23, 28 
Inspectors, ec. m., 24; general, 23, 28; 

primary, 39-45, 51, Appendix H. 
Institute, 20 
Instructions, meaning, 17 

Jacoulet, M., director of n. s., Saint- 
Cloud, 247 
Jura, department of, first girls' n. s., 153 
Jesuits, expulsion of, 141 

Kuhn, M., teacher at Auteuil, 183 

Lagrange, teacher in n. s. of the Conven- 
tion, 142 

Laicization of the ss., 50, 54, 82, 165 

Lancaster (Bell-) system, 100 

Language, study of, in com. and ind. ss., 
126, 135, 136; in ec. m. and cl. en., 76, 
77; in e. p. ss., 106; in h. p. ss., 135, 
136; in n. ss., 146, 156, 165, 180, 190, 
192 

Lantern shdes, sent out by Mus^e peda- 
gogique, 259 

Laplace, teacher in n. s. of the Conven- 
tion, 142 

La Salle, training s. of, 140 

Libraries, in n. ss., 184; school, 89, 90 

Lille, e. p. s. specially prepares for teach- 
er's diploma, 178 

Literature, history of, in n. ss., 196 



Literature, in exam, for higher diploma, 
231 n, 232; for p. h. n. ss., 241, 242 
Study of, in n. ss., 165, 190, 192; in 
n. s. of the Convention, 143; in p. 
h. n. ss., 244, 249, 250 
Lodging allowance, 68, 74 
Loi, meaning, 17 

Loire-lnferieure, closing of n. s., 155 
Longfellow, modern language require- 
ments in n. ss., 203 
Lycee, 63, 95 ; distinguished from college, 

12 
Lyon, graduated practice teaching, 221- 
222; n. s., 178; preparatory year for 
Saint-Cloud, 248; science laboratory, 
207-208; student lectures, 196-197; 
study of music, 212-213 

Maire, power of s. inspection, 46 
Mann, Horace, influence for Massachu- 
setts n. ss., 154; in n. s. curriculum, 196 
Manual work, in com. and ind. ss., 126, 
135, 136; in ec. m and cl. en., 76, 
77; in e. p. ss., 106, 114-115, 117; 
in h. p. ss., 135 ff; in n. ss,, 165, 
166, 173, 176, 190 ff, 211-212; in 
p. h. n. ss., 244, 247, 250 
In exam, for elementary diploma, 

228; for p. h. n. ss., 243, 248 
Saint-Cloud, 249 
Map drawing, in n. s. curriculum, 199 
Marking system, exam, for the elementary 

diploma, 229 
Mathematics, in exam, for elementary di- 
ploma, 238; for higher diploma, 
231 and note, 232; for p. h. n. s., 
241, 242 
Study of, in com. and ind. ss., 126, 
135, 136; in h. p. ss., 135 ff; in n. 
ss., 190, 192, 205-206; in n, s. of 
the Convention, 143; in p. h. n. 
ss., 244, 250 
Mechanics, elementary, study of, in n. ss., 

147, 150 
Mens, first girls' normal course in 1833, 

153 
Menus, in n. si.. Appendix I. 
Metaphysics, study of, in n. s. of the Con- 
vention, 143 
Method, class, fontenay-aux-Roses, 245; 

evolution of, 258 
Methods of teaching, study of, in n. ss,, 

140, 146, 150, 152, 160 
Metric system, advantage of, no 
Militarism, effect, 169-170 
Military drill, in e. p. ss., 106, I13-II4; 

in n. ss., 166, 190, 192 
Military service, two years', 170 
Minister of public instruction, 16, 17, 22. 

147; relations with Minister of Com. 

and Ind., 17, 124, 125 



INDEX 



301 



Mironneau, M., director of n. s., at Lyon, 

197 
Mixed schools, 83 
Model lessons, 222-225 
Modern languages, in exam, for higher 
diploma, 231 n, 232; for p. h, n, 
s , 241, 242 
Methods of instruction, in h. p. ss., 

203-204; in n. ss., 202 
Study of, in com. and ind. ss., 135, 
136; in h. p. ss., 135, 136; in n. 
ss., 165, 166, 177, 190, 192, 200; 
in p h. n. ss., 244, 249, 250 
Text-books, in n. ss., 203 
Monitors, 1 00-101 
Montaigne, in n. s. curriculum, 195 
Moral instruction, in cl. en., 76, 77; in 
com. and ind. ss., 136; in ec. m., 76, 
77; in e. p. ss., 106 ff; in h. p. ss., 135, 
136; in n. ss., 150, 151, 156, 165, 166, 
176, 190, 192; in n. s. of the Conven- 
tion, 143; in p. h. n. ss., 244, 249, 250 
Morale, in e. p. ss., 107-108; in n. ss., 
194-195; substituted for religious in- 
struction, 'iT,. See also Ethics, and 
Moral instruction. 
Musee pedagogique, 197, 259 
Musee scolaire. See School museum. 
Music, in exam, for elementary diploma, 
228; for higher diploma, 231 n. 
Study of, in n. ss., 146, 150, 156, 159, 
190, 192, 212, 213; in p. h. n. ss., 
244, 250 

Nancy, preparatory year for Saint-Cloud, 

248 
Nantes, national professional s., 19, 127 
Napoleon and the University, 145 
Natural history, in exam for elementary 
diploma, 228; for higher diploma, 
231 and note, 232; for p. h. n. 
ss., 241, 242 
Study of, in com. and ind. ss., 135; 
in h. p. ss , 135; in n. s., 147, 150, 
156, 180; in n. s. of the Conven- 
tion, 143; in p. h. n. s., 250 
Natural science. See Natural history. 
Newspapers, 1 84-1 85 
Nimes, normal class, 149 
Normal courses, established for girls be- 
fore n. ss., 153; in 1877, number, 153 
Normal school, at Bar-le-Duc, 147; at 
Helfedang.', 147, 150; at Paris in 1872, 
154; at Strassburg, 145-146; direct- 
ors, source of supply, 252; of the Con- 
vention, 142-145; of the Hundred 
Days, 145 
Normal schools, admission requirements, 
179; Barrau's pamphlet against, 155; 
before the Revolution, 140-142; 
changes in curriculum, 188 n; chart of 



the, 149; closed in Loire-Inferieure and 
the Vosges, 155; condition in 1832, 148; 
curriculum of 1832, 150; curriculum of 
1851, 156-157; curriculum of 1881, 
165-166; curriculum, present, chap, x; 
curriculum reorganized in 1866, 160— 
162; curriculum revised in 18S3, "^6; 
discipline, i8o-l8i, 183, 184; early, 
extension courses, 152; early, scholar- 
ships, 149; effect of Franco-Prussian 
war, 162; effect of militarism, 169— 
170; entrance exam., 179-180; estab- 
lished in Algeria in 1855, '59> exams., 
186-187; excursions, 171-172; Fal- 
loux law of 1850, 155-156; fees abol- 
ished, 164; first girls', 153, for girls, 
movement toward, 162; in 1832, ad- 
mission to. 151; in 1832, appointment 
of teachers, 151 ; in 1832, control, 151; 
in 1837, number, 153; in 1863, teach- 
ing force, 158; in 1866, entrance ex- 
ams., 161; in 1879, number, 164; in 
1890, number, 168; in 1903, number, 
169; influence of Guizot, 148-149, 
152; inspection, 171 ; legislation of 
1832-1833, 153; life of the pupils, 181- 
184; modern language text books, 203; 
obligatory for both sexes, 164; organi- 
zation, chap, ix; pedagogical confer- 
ences, 159; pupils, chap, ix; reaction 
against, about 1840, 154; recruitment 
of pupils, 179; regulation of 1832, 149- 
150; regulation of 1851, 157-158; 
salaries, 162; salaries in 1855, 158; size, 
168-169; special exam, for teachers, 
164; student control, 161 ; subjects of 
instruction, 194 ff; support, 51, 171; 
teachers, 173 ff, 210; weekly programs, 
190, 192 
Note-books, 102-105 

Obligatory schools, conventionally, 55 

Octroi, 68, 207 

Orne, department of, first girls' n. s., 153 

Paris, n. s., established in 1872, 154; n. 
ss., 172; school budget, 19 

Paternalism in French ss., 259-260 

Pecaut, Felix, director at Fontenay-aux- 
Roses, 240, 245 

Pedagogy, in exam, for p. h. n. s., 241 
Study of, in n. ss,, 159-160, 165, 176, 
190, IQ2, 195; in p. h. n. ss., 244, 
250. See also Methods of teaching. 

Pelletier, attitude toward training of teach- 
ers, 141 

Pensions, 70 

Pestalozzi, influence on method, 258 

Physical environment, 254 

Physical exams., in n. ss., 215-216 



302 



INDEX 



Physics, in exam, for elementary diploma, 
228; for higher diploma, 231 and 
note, 232; for p. h. n. ss., 241, 242 
Study of, in com. and ind. ss., 135; 
in h. p. ss., 135; in n. ss., 146, 150, 
156, 165, 173, 180, 190, 192, 206 ff ; 
in n. s. of the Convention, 143 
Pierre, M., director of n. s., Saint-Cloud, 

247 
Political economy, study of, in com. and 
ind. ss., 135, 136; in h. p. ss., 135, 136; 
in p. h. n. s., 250 
Practice schools, chap, xi 
Practice teaching, 156; at Auteuil, 220; 
at Batignolles, 219; at Fontenay-aux- 
Roses, 225, 246; graduated, at Lyon, 
221-222 
Prefect, 35-36, 70 
Primary certificate, 187 
Primary education, distinguished from 

secondary, 12 
Primary instruction, director of, 20 
Primary school, aim, 13. See also Ele- 
mentary primary school and Higher 
paimary school. 
Primary school course, limits, 12 
Privas, student lectures, 197 
Prizes, 71 

Probation, teacher's period of, 61 
Professeur, meaning, 21 n 
Program, ec. m., 77; e. p. ss., geography 
and history, 112; h. p. ss., 135, 136; 
n. ss., 165, 190, 192; n. s. of the Con- 
vention, 143; p. h. n. ss., 244, 250, 
Appendix C. 
Psychology, in exam, for higher diploma, 
231 n 
Study of, in n. ss., 190, 192, 194; in 
p. h. n. ss., 2^4, 245, 249, 250 
Punishment in ss., 98-99. See also Dis- 
cipline. 
Punishments, teacher's, 38, 70 
Pupil teachers, 180 

Rabelais, in n. s. curriculum, 195 
Rapport personnel, 222, Appendix J. 
Reading, in exam, for elementary diploma, 

228; for higher diploma, 231 n; 

in primary ss. under Napoleon, 145 
Study of, in ec. m. and cl. en., 76, 77; 

in e. p. ss., 106, ill, 145; in La 

Salle's seminary, 1 40; in n. ss., 

150, 156, 165 
Recess, 105 
Rector, 26-29 

Religious bodies, 82. See also Congrega- 
tions- 
Religious instruction, in n. ss., 150-151, 

156 
Religious question, 108 
R6petitrices. See Tutors, English. 



Residential allowance, 74. See also In- 
demnity, residential. 

Reviews, 116 

Rewards, in the schools, 99, see also 
Discipline; teacher's, 38, 71-72 

Rifle practice, in h. p. ss. and n. ss., 213 

Rolland, attitude toward training of 
teachers, 141 

Rouland, Minister in 1856, 158 

Rousseau, in n. s. curriculum, 195 

Saint-Cloud, 23, 51, 163, 175, 212, 225, 
chap, xi; admission, 248; budget, 252; 
contrast with Fontenay-aux-Roses, 248; 
daily program, 250 ; opened in 1882, 
166, 247; student life, 251; teaching 
force, 251 

Saint-Pierre, teacher in n. s. of the Con- 
vention, 142 

Salaries, 24, 43, 49-50, 55-56, 65-69' 
158, 162-163, 176-177 

Salles d'asile. See Ecoles maternelles. 

Schiller, modern language requirements, 
in n. ss., 203 

Scholarships, 132-133; at early n. ss., 
149, 152; foreign, 249; in Strassburg 
n, s., 146 

School, administration, study of, in p. h. 
n. s., 249, 250; attendance, 92, 93; 
board, local, see Commission scolaire; 
conduct, 255; coordination with the 
community, 259-260; equipment, 86; 
fund, see Caisse d'ecole; kitchen, 56, 
74> 93-94; Hbrary, 56, 89; museum, 
88-89; organization, 95-96; organiza- 
tion, study of, in n. ss., 160; registers, 
89; savings banks, 56; support, sources, 
49-56 

School buildings, 172; construction super- 
vised by the State, 84; decoration, 87, 
239; heating, 85; legal requirements 
of, 84; ventilation, 85 

Schools, prevalence of, 83; private, 34 

Science, study of, in com. and ind. ss., 
126, 136; in e. p. ss., 106, 117; in h. p. 
ss., 136; in n. ss., 165, 206-209. See also 
under the various branches of science. 

Secondary education, distinguished from 
primary, 12 

Secondary school, aim, 14; course, 13, 
14; fees, 13 

Seine-et Oise, departmental n. s, served 
Paris until 1872, 154 

Sevres, early location of p. h. n. s., 247 

Sewing, 57, 114, 117, 212; study of, in 
girls' n. ss., 212. See also Manual work. 

Singing, in e. p ss., 106, 113; in h. p. 
ss., 135, 136; in La Salle's seminary, 
140; in n. ss., 165 

Social organizations, at Fontenay aux- 
Roses, absence of, 239 



INDEX 



303 



Spelling, in e. p. ss., 117 

Sports, lack of interest in, 182-183 

Stagiaire, 33, 34, 59-60, 233 

State, financial responsibility, 49-51, 54 

Stereotomy, study of, in p. h. n. s., 250 

Strassburg n. s., 145-146 

Student lectures, 196-167 

Student life, at Fontenay-aux-Roses, 239; 

at Saint-Cloud, 251 
Student organizations, 183 
Study periods, surveillance of, 130 
Study rooms, in n. ss., 173 
Surveying, study of, in n. ss,, 147, 150, 

156, 165 

Teachers, appointment, 60, 129; classes 
of, 60, 63; in ec. m., 75; in e. p. ss., 
59; in h. p. ss., 62, 129; in n. ss., 173- 
174; in n. ss., preparation, 175; in p. 
h. n. ss., 243; number, 57-58; promo- 
tion, 63-66; proportion of men and 
women, 57; qualifications, 60, 129; 
relations with pupils, 57; salaries, 65- 
67; sources of supply, 63, 178; trained, 
61 

Tenure of office, 69 

Textbooks, choice of, 91 ; elementary, 
criticism of, in the n. s. of the Conven- 
tion, 143; free, 56, 92; required, in e. 
p. ss., 90; use of, 193 

Titulaire, 33, 34, 38, 59-60, 63-66, 233, 

235 
Topography, study of, in p. h. n. s., 250 
Trigonometry, study of, in n. ss., 205-206 
Tuition, free, 82. See also Free schools. 



Tutors, English, at girls' n, ss,, 201 

Union schools, 83 

United States, inadequately treated in 

geography. 199 
University of France, 16 
University, its authority over public 

ss., 148 

Vacations, 161, 185-186 

Vaccination, compulsory, 71 n.; reward 

for encouraging, 71 
Vatican, relations with France, 82 
Versailles, n. s., established in 1831, 154 
Vierzon, national professional s., 19, 127 
Voiron, national professional s., 19, 127 
Von Rochow, supporter of n. s. move- 
ment in Germany, 142 
Vosges, closing of n. s., 155 

Wordsworth, modern language require- 
ment, in n. ss , 203 

Work, home, 105-106 

Writing, in com. and ind, ss., 135, 136; 
in ec. m. and cl. en., 76, 77; in e, 
p, ss., 106, III, 117, 145; in h, p. 
ss., 135, 136; in La Salle's semi- 
nary, 140; in n. ss., 156, 165, 180, 
190, 192; in primary ss, under 
Napoleon, 145 
In exam, for elementary diploma, 228 

Zoology, study of, in n, ss., 207; in p. h. 
n, s., 244 



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